Catching Her Eye
by allyrachelle
Summary: Harry’s knees went weak. He had never wanted to be with someone so much before in his life. At that moment, he realized that he had someone else besides his family and Sirius that cared for him. And that person was Ginny. AU--INCLUDES THE TRIWIZARD
1. Ginny

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, nor do I claim to. JKR is amazing and I wouldn't even dream of taking credit for her work!**

**A/N:** BEWARE! Major Fluff alert!!!! (but fluff is what I write best! :P)

Chapter 1-- Ginny

Harry Potter groggily dragged his feet down the steps. He had just woken up, so his jet black hair was even more messy than it usually was. His black wire glasses were lopsided on his nose, and he had a smooth, blemish-free face.

"Hey Mum?" he called out.

"In here!" his mother, Lily, replied.

As Harry walked towards the kitchen. He realized several sounds were coming from it. It sounded like they had guests, so he dashed upstairs to change out of his pyjamas.

When Harry emerged from his bedroom, he heard the unmistakable sound of Sirius, his godfather, down in the kitchen laughing with a large group of people. Harry didn't even bother to brush his hair as he made his way back to the kitchen.

"Harry!" Sirius cried out in jubilation at the sight of his sixteen year old godson.

"Sirius! What are you doing here?" Harry asked.

"Well, I came here with them," he replied, gesturing to a group of redheads sitting at the table.

"Oh," Harry said faintly, looking around the large group of unfamiliar people. Noticing Harry's gaze wandering around, Harry's father, James, jumped in.

"Harry, these are the Weasleys. They are very good family friends," James explained. Harry noticed a wand sticking out of one of the person's pocket. So they are a magical family, too…

"Hiya, Harry!" the youngest looking male hopped up, holding out his hand to Harry, "I'm Ron," he was tall, and had a slightly crooked nose. His hair was a flaming red, and his ears were turning slightly red.

"Nice to meet you," Harry said politely, shaking the boy's hand. Harry judged that he was sixteen--maybe seventeen--years old. The boy seemed decent enough, even nice and down-to-earth. The next man--or two-- in the line stood up to greet Harry.

"We're Fred--"

"And George," the second twin finished the first's sentence. They were relatively tall, with shaggy ginger hair that fell into their faces-- it suited them rather well. Harry nodded to each of them in turn. Fred leaned in close to Harry.

"Listen," he whispered. "we are trying to work on starting up on a joke shop… want to earn some extra loot from being a tester of one of our products?" he asked devilishly with a sly grin.

"Err… maybe later," Harry replied uncertainly. George nodded approvingly at Harry's answer.

Meanwhile, Harry met several more people, all of which belonged to the same, close knit family. After greeting men named, Charlie, Bill, Percy, Arthur, and a woman named Molly, Harry finally met the last Weasley.

As she stood up to say hello, Harry gaped at her. She was utterly beautiful. She had long waves of flowing, blazing red hair. She had the brownest eyes Harry had ever seen. They were a chocolate brown and sparkled in a way that was different from anyone else Harry had ever seen. She had a faint sprinkling of freckles on the mask of her face. He didn't even know her, and yet, he was already falling for her.

"I'm Ginny," she said. Her voice was soft, yet steady and unwavering. She had a smile on her face, her eyes sparkling up at him. Harry gulped. That name suited her perfectly. It wasn't girly, but it wasn't tomboy-ish. Harry just merely stared into her eyes.

Harry was at a loss for words--and breath. He stood there, staring at her like an idiot until he heard someone cough, in a far-out, distant land, that was really the kitchen table. Harry recognized that it was Ron who was the source of the cough. Harry suddenly realized that he hadn't said a word to Ginny yet.

"I--um--h-- hi…" he managed to stutter out. She grinned, and Harry felt his cheeks burn from embarrassment. He had just met her, and now he already seemed like a fool. "Really nice to meet you," he said.

"And the same to you," Ginny said. Oh, how Harry was falling for her. He needed to get a way to talk to her properly. Harry pondered this while he sat down at the kitchen table next to Ron. He suddenly wished he had brushed his hair…

**A/N:** yes, yes. I realize that this is really short. I was planning on having some short and sweet chapters, so that way, I can get them out faster-- maybe even a couple a day!


	2. Meet the Twins

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, nor do I claim to. JKR is amazing and I wouldn't even dream of taking credit for her work!**

**A/N: So here is chapter 2! Reviewer Danielle, to find out the answer to your question, read on! : )**

**Chapter 2-- Meet the Twins**

Lily started her daily ascent to her son's room. He was such a loner. Yes, he had friends, but he was an introvert to the extreme. She knew it would be a waste of time going up to his room, but she still did anyway.

Lily came up to his bedroom door and saw a sign that said "Shut up and GO AWAY!" She sighed when she heard the Weird Sisters blaring on his Muggle CD player. He preferred Muggle electronics to anything else.

Lily brought up her closed fist to the door, and was about to knock, when the door flew open.

"I sensed your presence," Lily's youngest son said. Lily seemed a bit taken aback at this, but quickly recovered.

"Seth… What have I told you about blaring the music?…" Lily sighed. Seth kept an emotionless expression on his face.

"This is not music. This is a way of life," he said, flopping down on his bed and taking out his Muggle cell phone.

Seth was wearing a relatively baggy plain black zip-up hoodie. He had on a pair of high-top, black Converse, and black straight leg jeans. He had a mop of extremely shaggy and messy black hair, just like his father, James.

"Yes, yes, you've told me," Lily said. She pointed to a small, black circular box-type thing on his bedside table. "Why can't you just listen to the Weird Sisters on your _portable_ CD player?"

Seth answered her immediately.

"It doesn't get loud enough."

Lily sighed for the hundredth time. She looked around his room. He had posters of various bands covering every inch of his walls. They we Muggle posters, so the musicians stayed stationary. He had dark grey carpet and bed sheets. A wooden desk stood in the corner full of letters and magazines. There was a white Les Paul guitar leaning against the wall, and a drum set was smack-dab in the middle of the cluttered floor. The only colourful thing in the room, really, was a pile of various cat toys in the corner.

"Cookie! Where are you?" Seth called out. Suddenly, a small black and white spotted cat leapt into Seth's lap. Seth stroked the little kitten lovingly.

"Fine, you can keep the music. Just turn it down or I'll have to put a silencing charm on your door," Lily said. Seth jumped up so quickly that Cookie barely had time to latch onto his shoulder.

"No," he stated firmly.

"Why, Seth?" Lily asked pleadingly. "Why do you hate to use magic so much?"

"I just don't like it, okay?" Seth said moodily. "Besides, what does it matter? I'm only fifteen. I can't use magic, anyway."

"Well, fine. But you have to come down and eat dinner with the whole family tonight, then," Lily said.

"Fine," Seth replied distractedly. He had continued to play with a fake mouse with Cookie. Lily turned to stalk out of the room, but Seth's voice stopped her.

"When is Violet getting back?" Lily turned around.

"She is due to be here in a few minutes," Lily replied, walking out of his room.

It was always the same. She would only so much as mention magic, and he would blow up at her. She needed to talk to him, but he just wouldn't let her. The only people he would talk to were his siblings. His best friend was Violet, his twin sister, and he had always looked up to Harry, even if he did deny it every second of the day.

On Lily's way back down to the kitchen, she passed her daughter on the stairs. Violet had been staying the night at a friend's house. Violet had bright red hair, just like her mother. Violet had dyed her hair red, considering she was born with James' hair. She had always said that black hair didn't suit her.

Violet's favourite colour was, coincidentally, violet. She was wearing brightly a bright purple shirt that had a picture of her favourite Muggle band, the Jonas Brothers, on the front. She wore a hot pink skirt, and over-the-knee socks that were striped with every colour of the rainbow on them.

"Violet," Lily said. "Seth was asking about you."

"Okay, I'll go hang out with him, then. Bye, Mum," Violet said happily as she continued up the stairs and into Seth's room.

xxx

"Hey Seth," Violet said as she sat down next to her twin brother on his bed.

"Vi!" he exclaimed, giving her a huge hug. Just then, their older brother, Harry walked into the room.

"Whoa, what's with such the warm welcome?" Violet asked as Harry sat down at the drum set.

"Yeah, how come I didn't get a hug?" Harry asked, picking up the drumsticks.

"Well, I just missed you, that's all," Seth said, while Cookie played with the sleeve of his sweatshirt. "And Harry, you didn't get a hug because you are an idiot."

Violet got up from the bed and snatched the drumsticks out of Harry's hands and played a tune that sounded like, "Ba dum shh".

"Why am I an idiot?" Harry asked, snatching the drumsticks back from his sister.

"Because," Seth sighed, sounding exasperated. "you can't even talk to a girl without choking and making an idiot out of yourself!"

Harry's mouth dropped open and his eyes bulged out ever so slightly. At this point, Violet was rolling on the bed in a fit of giggles, while Cookie was rolling around beside her.

"How did you find out about that?" Harry asked. "You weren't even there!"

"Harry, you should know by now that I am _everywhere_," Seth said, whispering the last word. Harry rolled his eyes, while Violet wiped away her tears of mirth.

"Yeah, who _were_ those people anyway?" Violet asked. Harry stared at her.

"You weren't even in the house when that happened!"

"I have my sources of information that shall remain confidential," Violet said, glancing quickly at Seth and smiling.

"I am watching you two," Harry said darkly, pointing a finger at each of them in turn.

"Well, Dad said that they were the Weasleys, or whatever," Seth answered Violet's question.

"They must live here," Harry concluded. "That's why Mum, Dad, and Sirius know them. They must have known them before we moved to America for those ten years while Mum and Dad home schooled us."

"So we must have met them we were like, what? Five and six years old?" Violet asked.

"Most likely," Seth said. "That's why we don't remember them."

"But they _are_ magical, aren't they?" Violet asked. Seth tensed at this.

"Yeah. I saw a few wands," Harry said, noticing Seth's discomfort. He always acted this way when magic was brought up in a conversation.

"Well, anyway," Violet said, "HARRY LIKES A GIRLLLLLLLLLL!"

Seth cracked a smile that only showed on his face when he was with his brother and sister. Harry picked up a pillow from the cluttered floor and flung it at Violet. She dodged it with much skill. The pillow instead proceeded to knock Cookie, who was standing on the bed, on his side. Harry and Violet took this as an opportunity for a pillow war.

Seth grabbed Cookie and dodged a flying pillow before he plopped down in the corner to watch the scene unfold in front of him. How he loved his siblings.

*******Add me on myspace at .com/godricshallows for additional artwork, sneak previews, and much more from my stories!*******

Let us just pretend that the Jonas Brothers were a famous band back then :)


	3. SPEW

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, nor do I claim to. JKR is amazing and I wouldn't even dream of taking credit for her work!**

**Chapter 3: The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare**

Seth sighed, bored out of his mind. He twisted his fork around his plate, drawing random patterns in his mashed potatoes, while Cookie rubbed and circled around his legs. He looked up at the rest of his family. He wanted to be up in his room, listening to his iPod, but he had promised his mother that he would eat dinner with them. The only reason he had agreed to this was because his sister was back home.

"Seth," Violet whispered, after Seth let out another sigh.

"What?" he replied expressionlessly. He had an impassive and apathetic look on his face.

"Cheer up."

"I am perfectly cheery," Seth grumbled. Violet raised her eyebrows in a way that said, _Oh really? Prove it._

Seth replied by rolling his eyes and pelting a pea at Harry, just to pass the time. Harry glared at his brother.

"What was that for?" he asked, a grimace on his face.

"See, Violet? That just cheered me up," Seth said, although the only laughter on his face was held in his light green-hazel eyes. However, his eyes were nearly completely covered by his messy black hair.

"Seth, aren't you _ever_ hungry?" James asked.

Seth shook his head slightly. Harry had an angry look on his face, but before he could say anything, Seth stood up.

"Can I be excused?"

"In just a moment," James replied. "Your mother and I have something to tell you."

Lily cleared her throat and looked at all of her children.

"We have decided that you all will be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in a week."

Seth was the only one who didn't have a surprised look on his face.

"Can I go now?" he asked.

"Sure," Lily replied lamely. She knew this was whole dinner ordeal was going to be a lost cause to begin with.

Seth trudged up the stairs to his room. Halfway up the staircase, he threw out his arm. Cookie immediately hopped u and attached his claws onto Seth's jacket sleeve.

"Well," James said, turning back towards Harry and Violet. "We will all be leaving to go to King's Cross next Sunday. We will have to be there at 10:30 AM at the latest. The Hogwarts Express will be leaving at 11:00 and we can't be late."

"But how will we be sorted?" Violet asked. She loved to read about all sorts of things and topics, so she, alone of her siblings, was the one that knew the most about Hogwarts.

This time, it was Lily who answered her. "You will be sorted before the first years at the Start of Term feast. Since your father and I have already gotten your books and supplies from Diagon Alley, all you have to do is pack."

"It sounds good!" Violet said. "It will be fun to go to a real school! And _Hogwarts!_ That's the best school out there!"

"I'm glad to see you are excited about this, Vi," James said.

"But what about…?" Harry trailed off. He was referring to Seth and his hate of all things magic-- that is, everything magical _except_ the Weird Sisters.

"He'll cope," Lily said.

"And I'll talk to him," Violet supplied. James nodded his approval.

"Well, will we know anyone there?" Harry asked hopefully.

"The Weasleys that are still young enough to be in school are going to be there," Lily said.

"Like-- err-- which ones are still young enough?" Harry asked.

Violet snorted loudly into her tuna casserole at Harry's failed attempt to be nonchalant.

"I think its just Ron and Ginny now," James said, thinking through all of the Weasleys' ages.

"Oh, alright then," Harry tried to sound as though he wanted to know for no particular reason. Violet collapsed on the floor in a fit of giggles. Harry was acting like a lovesick puppy, and she would _never_ let him live this down.

xxx

Harry was tossing and turning the entire night. All he kept thinking about was Ginny. He couldn't get her off his mind, no matter what he did. He knew he was acting foolish and immature, but he couldn't help the feelings that he felt for her.

Harry heard a creaking noise from the hallway. He slowly stood up out of bed and padded his way over to the door. He opened the door soundlessly and distinctly saw Seth walking down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Harry, deciding that he should follow him, made his way down the stairs. When he got to the bottom to the stairwell, he saw Seth opening their Muggle refrigerator. Harry watched silently form the doorway as Seth rooted around in the shelves.

"Hello, Harry," Seth said, making Harry jump. He always wondered how Seth could always tell there was someone watching him and who it was without even turning his head around to look at you.

"Hi…" Harry replied, scratching the back of his neck embarrassedly. "What exactly are you doing?"

"I'm trading Pokemon cards with Barney," Seth said. Harry's face held a look of confusion.

"You're--what?" he asked.

"Never mind… I'm hungry, so I am getting something to eat," Seth said. He had yet to remove his head out of the refrigerator.

"Then why didn't you eat earlier with us at dinner?"

"Because Mum used magic to cook it," Seth replied simply, pulling out several jars of Muggle food, condiments, and ice cream toppings.

"What kind of an excuse is that?" Harry asked, watching as Seth untwisted a loaf of Wonder bread and placing some Eggo toaster waffles in the toaster.

"A good one," Seth replied, occupied with some turkey sandwich meat.

"But why do you hate magic?" Harry asked. Seth sighed.

"Slave-labour," he said simply, finally turning around to look at Harry.

"What?" Harry asked, confused.

"Wizards mistreat all sorts of animals and creatures, and they abuse house-elves. And wizards use magic against them all the time," Seth said.

"But it's not like mum is doing all of this stuff you are going on about."

"Do you _not_ remember what happened to Shuffles?" Seth asked.

Harry's face remained blank.

"He was our old house-elf. That we had before we moved to America. I set him free."

"Wha--?" Harry started.

"So Mum _did_ do this stuff I am talking about," Seth said.

"But you said you don't like magic… house-elves are magic," Harry said.

"True, but house-elves are adorable and helpless. They can't help doing what they are forced to be doing," Seth said, turning around and facing his various foods. "I, however, _can_ help what I am choosing to do with my life, and _I _don't want to use magic. All it does is harm others."

Harry's mouth hung open. What had Seth just told him all of this?

"So if you are done interrogating me about my beliefs, I must go. Cookie is upstairs waiting for me for bring him some chocolate sauce."

And with that, Seth disappeared up into his room, carrying a tray full of sweets and food.

xxx

Several days passed by which consisted of Harry daydreaming of Ginny, Seth refusing to have anything to do with magic, and Violet teasing Harry. The night before they were scheduled to leave for Hogwarts, the Potters had invited the Weasleys and Ron's girlfriend over for dinner.

At 5:00 PM, a soft knock was heard at the Potter's front door. Lily, however was busy cooking in the kitchen, James was out repairing Sirius' motorbike, which had broken down just a few days earlier, while Harry was upstairs taking a shower, and Violet was gardening. So, as luck would have it, Seth was the only one left to open the door.

He got up from his lounging spot on the soft and trudged over to the entryway. He opened the door and saw a large group of redheads and one bushy-haired, buck-toothed brunette.

"Hello! I'm Hermione!" the brunette said brightly.

Seth merely looked at them.

"May we come in?" The boy he recognized as Ron asked. Seth shrugged and moved over so that they could come inside.

"You must be Seth, am I right?" Molly, the mother, asked.

Seth jerked his head slightly in response. Then Seth's eye caught something colourful and shiny. Hermione caught his gaze and smiled.

"Yes, this is my button for my society I founded: S.P.E.W.," Hermione chirped. Then Seth spoke for the first time.

"What dos it stand for?" Ron shuffled his feet awkwardly from beside his girlfriend, Hermione.

"It stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare," Hermione said proudly. Seth stared at her.

"Have you started recruiting members?" he asked Hermione, who seemed delighted that he was interested in S.P.E.W.

"Yes. It's one sickle to join," she said hopefully. Seth handed her a small silver coin almost immediately. Hermione beamed at him and handed him a lime-green button. Seth pinned it to his jean leg and walked into the kitchen.

"Seth?" Lily asked him as she saw him enter the room. "Are the Weasleys here?"

"Mmhm," He mumbled as the Weasleys and Hermione entered the kitchen and sat down at the table.

"Hello, Lily. Is James in back?" Arthur asked her. Lily nodded, and Arthur, along with Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, and George, left out of the back door to do "manly" things.

Violet strolled in after the men had left, and sat down next to Seth at the table. Even after being outside in the late August heat, not a single one of her hairs was out of place. Hermione and Ginny joined them at the end of the table.

Ginny sat chatting with Violet about who knows what, while Hermione and Seth talked about the mistreatment of all kinds of creatures, while Cookie played with Crookshanks, Hermione's fluffy ginger cat (It had taken them a while to understand that a cookie was an American word for a biscuit), and Ron set up a game of wizard's chess.

Harry walked into the kitchen a short while later with his hair all sticking out in every direction as usual. He was wearing a pair of Seth's jeans--which he took from his younger brother without asking, earning himself a glare form Seth--, and a light blue t-shirt. His glasses were neatly polished and shiny, his green eyes sparkling from behind the lenses. He made his way over to Ron and sat down.

Harry had dressed up for Ginny, for he was infatuated with her. But little did he know, that Ginny fancied him, but kept denying it.

_Ginny! Get a hold of yourself! Stop thinking about how you want to run your hands through his completely… amazing hair, and then she would-- Stop it, Ginevra Molly Weasley! You are seeing someone at the moment! _

But suddenly her thoughts turned to those of how she would break up with Dean Thomas via owl straight away, for Harry had just run his hand through his messy locks.

_Get a grip on yourself! _Ginny thought._ You don't even know him!…Oh forget it! I need an owl some parchment, and a quill-- now! Forget Dean!_

Ginny quickly asked Ron if she could borrow Pigwidgeon, who had taken to following them everywhere, and scribbled a quick note to Dean:

_Dean,_

_Sorry, but I think we should see other people…_

_-Ginny_

Ginny let Pigwidgeon fly out of the window, the note tied to his leg, and turned around to stare at Harry without guilt.

She quickly kicked Ron out of his seat and sat down opposite Harry.

"Hi…" she said dreamily.

"Err-- hi," Harry replied nervously. Ginny just thought he was downright adorable when he stuttered from his nerves.

"Hey Harry, Ginny!" fancy seeing you two… _together,_" Violet teased as she walked up to her brother. Harry shot her a warning look but she paid no notice. She was about to make another cheeky comment when Seth called her back over.

"Well, I'll let you two lovebirds have some time alone," she said, walking back to where Seth, Ron, and Hermione now sat.

Harry looked up at Ginny suddenly. "Hey… do you want to go for a walk?" he asked.

Ginny looked up in to his gorgeous green eyes and nodded excitedly.

**A/N:**** So that's chapter three. Thanks to those who reviewed! The next chapter will most likely be 90% Harry/Ginny, just to let you know. If you didn't already guess this, Seth loves all animals, so keep that in mind. :) if you want to see a picture that I drew of Seth and Violet, go to www. .com (without the spaces of course)**** and click on artwork. It will be in the only album on there :) thanks! -Ally**


	4. Platform Nine and Three Quarters

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Harry Potter, or any of his friends. So I guess I must continue on with my pitiful excuse of a life (haha) and keep writing fan fiction.**

**A/N: Okay, I lied. There is SOME Harry/Ginny, but not too much. Haha. This one is dedicated to deadheadwookie27, your review made me smile :)**

**Chapter 4: Platform Nine and Three Quarters **

"What--?" Ron exclaimed, but was cut off by Hermione.

"Shh, Ron! Don't interrupt them!" Ron was about to reply, but Hermione cut him off once more. "You said yourself that you would rather Ginny was with some one other than Michael Corner or Dean Thomas!"

"True," Ron said, resigning to the fact that his only sister ad just walked off with some boy that she had only met a few times in her life.

As everyone else resumed their current activities, Seth bent down and whispered something into Cookie's ear. As he played it off by tying his shoe, Violet distinctly saw the small kitten scamper out the door after Harry and Ginny.

Violet turned towards her twin and shot him a meaningful look. He merely winked at her and pressed a finger to his lips.

xxx

"So…" Harry said nervously as he walked alongside Ginny.

"So you're going to Hogwarts this year?" Ginny asked, trying to start up a conversation.

"Yeah…"

"That's nice. How is Seth going to take it?" Ginny continued at the confused look on Harry's face. "He was talking to Hermione about it."

"Ah, so Seth _can_ talk to someone other than me and Violet," Harry said.

"Well I think it's sweet that the only people he could really talk to are his siblings." Ginny said. "You must be close to him."

"Yeah, I s'pose," Harry said. This wasn't completely true, but he was willing to say so. "But how about you and your brothers?"

"Err-- well… Lets just say we don't kill each other," Ginny said with a laugh. Harry raised his eyebrows.

"Oh. It must be tiring, having six older brothers," Harry said.

"Well," Ginny replied, "three of them are off on their own-- Bill, Charlie, and Percy. So its just Ron, Fred, George and I still at home. Although, we don't get much peace around the house."

"Why is that?" Harry asked, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"Fred and George."

"I knew they seemed like trouble makers!" Harry laughed.

"Yeah. They want to open up a joke shop, but Mum doesn't want them to," Ginny continued. "They already have some products, but we don't know where they are getting the money."

Harry didn't know how to answer to this, so he changed the subject.

"What is Hogwarts like?"

"Well, there are tons of people there, and the food is _amazing_!" Ginny said, her eyes sparkling. "The teachers are pretty decent, and the grounds are beautiful! Its wonderful, except the Slytherins, of course."

"That's one of the Houses, right?" Harry asked. Ginny nodded.

"Yeah. There is Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor, that's my House," Ginny said. Harry suddenly hoped that he would be in Gryffindor.

Harry chanced a glance at Ginny. She had a far-out look in her eye as she looked at the lane ahead of her. Suddenly, Harry felt something collide with his leg. He looked down abruptly to see a small fur ball tumble to the ground at his feet.

"Cookie!" Harry exclaimed, picking up the small kitten and cradling him in his arms.

"Awwwwww…" Ginny cooed at the stopped cat and scratched him behind the ears. Harry was about to say something when a loud bang was heard from behind them.

"QUICK! GET SOMEONE!" they heard Fred screech.

"NO!" George shouted back. "Mum will KILL us!"

Ginny giggled from beside Harry before she took off running to go help her brothers get out of trouble… _again._ Harry sighed as he watched her run away in the opposite direction. He looked down at Cookie, who was purring softly and looking up at him with huge eyes.

"It looks like its just you and me, now, Cookie," Harry murmured to the small feline. Heaving a sigh, he walked back toward Potter manor.

xxx

"SETH!" Lily screamed up the stairs. "WE HAVE TO LEAVE!"

It was already 10:12 a.m., and they were still scurrying around the house getting last-minute things before they departed for King's Cross. Violet, was lounging on the sofa in the sitting room, having packed almost everything she owned the night before. Harry, on the other hand, was pacing, glancing nervously at his watch every few seconds, while James was preparing the Ministry car for them out front.

Seth sauntered down the stairs, his trunk dragging along behind him. His wand was sticking out of his back pocket--birch and dragon heartstring, eleven and a quarter inches. That surprised Lily. He usually didn't take his wand out of his trunk until he absolutely _had to._

Violet looked up at her twin brother and gave him a warm smile. His jeans were still skinny and black, but he was wearing a dark purple shirt with the words _Metro Station,_ a Muggle band, splashed across it in smooth, bright yellow letters.

Seth smiled back. He looked happier than he had in a long time. It was amazing, the effect Hermione left on people. It seemed as though she had given him a good talking-to about magic and its wonders.

Seth swiped his black hair out of his eyes. He had straightened it today, so it fell around his face, making his emerald-hazel eyes stand out. Violet grabbed her trunk and small pygmy owl, and walked after her parents out the front door.

Cookie hopped up onto Seth's shoulder and mewed softly in his ear, nuzzling his head against Seth's neck. He too, grabbed his trunk and followed Violet. Harry, who had just realized that his family had left, grabbed his luggage and ran after them with a quick glance back at the house.

xxx

On the ride to King's Cross, Violet and Seth were acting extremely chatty (which was VERY out of character for Seth). Lily and James were in the front seat, grinning broadly at Seth's sudden change of heart. Plus, their students were now going to Hogwarts, their old school. They were utterly overjoyed.

"Okay," Lily said as she got out of the car. "You know what to do on the train?"

"Yes, Mum," Seth said in exasperation. "We've only gone over it a thousand times!"

"Right," Lily said, slightly abashed at Seth's words.

"Okay," James said, clapping his hands together. "To the barrier!"

The five Potters made their way through the crowed train station, and towards platforms nine and ten. Violet clapped her hands together excitedly.

"Oh! I cant wait!"

"Settle yourself, Violet," Seth said with a smirk on his face, but his eyes portrayed the same excitement seen in his sister's as he looked at the barrier. This made Lily's heart lighten.

"You know what to do," James said, gesturing Seth and Violet forward.

The twins moved forward, linking arms and leaning against the barrier, appearing to be chatting casually to one another. They sunk through the barrier and disappeared through to the other side.

Violet and Seth stared open-mouthed at the scene in front of them. There was a scarlet train with the words _Hogwarts Express_ before them. People were bustling around the train, hugging and greeting old friends. Seth had never been around so many wizards and witches before in his life! It was overwhelming, looking around at their own kind that they usually had little or no contact with for the last ten years.

There were cracked stone pillars scattered across the platform, and the cement floor was starting to chip away at places. The sun was shining brightly through the steam of the train, making the Hogwarts Express gleam in the sunshine. Seth and Violet turned and saw James, Lily, and Harry emerge from the seemingly solid brick wall behind them.

James and Lily looked at the scene with fondness etched upon their faces. Harry, however, was looking at Platform 9 ¾ with a look of dazed amazement on his face.

"The Hogwarts Express," James said to this children, clapping his hands together.

"Oh, this is amazing!" Violet exclaimed, beaming.

"Well," Lily said, looking at James' watch. "It's five till. You should probably go and find a seat on the train."

"Bye Mum, Dad," Violet said, giving each of them a hug. Harry, too, hugged his parents goodbye. Lily went to hug Seth, but hesitated, remembering that he didn't fancy hugs. But it seemed that Seth was struggling inside. He suddenly flung his arms around his mother.

"Bye, Mum. I love you," he whispered in her ear, before embracing his father as well.

As she watched her three children board the train, Lily wiped her eyes quickly. Her eyes had started to water at Seth's actions. She really was going to miss him, as well as Violet and Harry greatly while they were at school. Violet waved to her mum and dad from the open window in the train corridor. Harry and Seth appeared by her side, waving as well. Lily and James held up a and of farewell as the Hogwarts Express' whistle blew, and they were off.

xxx

Harry followed his brother and sister down the train hallway, dragging his trunk behind him. He felt anxious as he searched for an empty compartment. A girl walked past and stopped dead in her tracks, staring at Harry.

She smiled at him, batting her eyelashes flirtatiously. He was bewildered.

"Err-- hi?" he said uncertainly, ruffling his hair absentmindedly in back.

"Hi…" she sighed. "I'm Cailey."

"I'm Harry," he replied. "Listen, I have to go."

"Okay. Bye Harry!" she replied, dashing off in the other direction and ducking into a compartment. Harry heard her whispering excitedly.

As the three Potters continued to look for an available compartment, girls were running from door to door, whispering, carrying on some secret. Suddenly, a girl ran up to Violet and whispered into her ear, giggling. Then she walked away, after introducing herself to Harry, of course.

Harry was utterly baffled.

"Oh my god," Violet laughed, looking at Harry and Seth.

"What?" Seth asked curiously. Violet beckoned him over and whispered something in his ear, with regular intervals for laughing.

Seth's eyes widened as he started chuckling too. Harry was still confused.

"What?" he demanded, glaring at his concurrently laughing siblings.

"Well," Violet gasped, clutching a stitch in her side. "Apparently you are the new '_hunk_' of the school!"

The twins burst out laughing again at this statement. Harry was dumbstruck, albeit a bit flattered. Harry stuttered for a while, before coming to his senses and shutting his mouth. Seth smirked up at Harry.

"Ah! So it seems as though being a dummkopf is the new style!" he said.

"What the heck, Seth?" Violet asked. "Why do you have to use such big words?"

"It means 'stupid head', basically," Seth said. At Violet and Harry's expressions, he elaborated. "I've read the dictionary a couple times…"

"No wonder you and Hermione get along," a voice said from behind Harry.

"Oh har-har, Ronald," Hermione said dryly from beside two redheads.

"Hey Ron, Hermione! _Ginny…_" Violet said the last name slyly, sending Harry a pointed look.

"Hey…" Ron said with a quick glance at Harry and Ginny. "Okay, do you have an explanation as to why _every single girl_ on this train is giggling and glancing up and down the corridors?"

Hermione chuckled, shooting Violet and Seth a knowing look.

"What?" Ron asked stupidly.

"Nothing, Ronald. Absolutely nothing," Ginny said, knowing _exactly_ what was going on.

"Let's find a compartment, shall we?" Harry asked suddenly, not wanting to talk about this any longer. Ginny nodded quickly, falling into step beside Harry and chatting to him about Quidditch.

She watched as girls shot her jealous looks as they passed several compartments, and sending them slightly arrogant smirks. She usually wasn't this catty, but she was very taken with Harry, and she refused to let him slip through her fingers.

If she didn't act fast, everything might be ruined by a bunch of randy teenage girls. And she _definitely_ wasn't going to let _that_ happen.

**A/N****: So I had a little fun looking things up in the dictionary! Sue me! Haha review to tell me your thoughts! :) **

Let us also pretend that Metro Station was a famous band back then :)


	5. Heading to Hogwarts

**Disclaimer:**** I wish I could claim ownership of these lovely characters, but as of right now, Jo owns all that is canon. :( but oh how I wish I could own Fred and George…**

**A/N: I've been getting told that I need to update sooner, so I swear I will try! This chapter is dedicated to ginevra-james because she is amazing with ideas! Haha :) I will be using a number of them throughout the span of C.H.E. Thanks to those who reviewed, and enjoy!**

**Chapter 5: Heading to Hogwarts**

"I can't believe I ever lived without these!" Seth exclaimed, shoving several chocolate frogs in his mouth and chewing hastily, eager to try some _Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans._

"For the love of Merlin, Seth! Close your mouth and stop acting so piggish!" Violet said, slightly disgusted with her brother.

"I agree with Violet. Right Ron?" Hermione asked, turning towards her boyfriend. He merely shrugged. _Typical Ron…_"Right Ginny?"

But Ginny didn't hear her, for she was too busy helping Seth finish off the sweets, while Harry watched her unblinkingly, with wide eyes. Violet giggled at the look on Harry's face. As Violet's giggling died out, the only sounds to be heard were the soft purring of Cookie and Crookshanks, and a few small hoots from Hedwig and Jellybean, Harry and Violet's owls.

"This is delicious!" Seth exclaimed, breaking the awkward silence in the compartment.

"Yeah, it is…" Harry said in a husky voice, still staring at Ginny. At this point Violet was rolling on the ground again, clutching her stomach. This pulled Harry out of his reverie with a slight blush. "Err--"

Ginny was turning a bright shade of pink.

"Right--" Harry said awkwardly. "Well… I'm going to-- err… Bathroom!"

He flung himself out the door and down the corridor, followed closely by a group of nearly swooning girls. Seth and Violet were rocking back and forth in laughter, clutching each other, crying tears of mirth. Ron's ears were red, and Hermione was concealing a grin behind her hand, but Ginny's expression was priceless.

Her eyebrows here risen so high that they were hidden by her fringe. Ginny's mouth was slightly agape, and she was staring at the spot where Harry had just disappeared.

"Ginny, you trying to catch flies?" Seth asked cheekily. Ginny quickly closed her mouth, blushing slightly.

Suddenly, before anyone could say anything further, Ginny sat up and walked out the open compartment door. She made her way to the bathroom carriage to find Harry. She simply couldn't take it anymore. She wanted to talk to Harry without anyone eavesdropping.

xxx

Ginny knocked softly on the door of the boys lavatory, waiting for an answer. Harry's face appeared in the doorway.

"Err-- hi," Harry said nervously.

"Hi," Ginny replied quickly. She needed to get this out before she lost her nerve.

"What are you--"

"Listen," Ginny cut him off. "Is there anyone else in there?"

"Uh… no," Harry replied, confused at her odd behaviour.

"Good," Ginny replied, pushing past Harry and closing the door behind her. She quickly locked the door, before turning around to face Harry. He still looked extremely confused.

"What exactly is going on here?" Harry asked slowly, albeit a bit nervously.

"I needed to talk to you, and this was really the only place…" Ginny said, shrugging slightly.

"Okay," Harry said, "What did you want to talk about?"

"Well," Ginny took a step closer to him. "I thought we could talk about, well… everything," she finished a bit lamely.

"Oh," Harry breathed. She was getting closer and closer. "Well, err--"

He could feel her breath on his face, and he was positive she could feel his as well.

Ginny looked him up in the eye, and whispered something to him.

"I've like you, Harry. A lot. Ever since I met you, you've been on my mind," her voice was getting huskier with each word.

"I--uh…" Harry's palms were sweating more and more with each breath he took.

"Harry--" Ginny breathed, taking another step towards him.

"Hmm?"

"Shut up."

"Okay."

Ginny leaned up and closed the gap between them, and kissed him firmly on the lips. Her hands snaked up and tangled themselves in his messy black hair. Harry's hands went automatically to her back. Even though this as his first kiss, he felt as if he knew _exactly_ what to do. It just felt _right_.

After a moment, they pulled apart, staring into each other's eyes. Harry's knees went weak. He had never wanted to be with someone so much before in his life. At that moment, he realized that he had someone else besides his family and Sirius that cared for him. And that person was Ginny.

Harry bent his head and kissed her once more. When they broke apart, Harry looked down at her, struggling to find words for what he wanted to say.

"What is it?" Ginny asked, inspecting his facial expression.

"Ginny--" Harry hesitated. "Will-- Will you-- Will you be my girlfriend?"

Ginny considered this for a moment before saying simply, "No, I don't think so."

"Wha--?"

"I'm kidding, Harry," Ginny laughed. "I grew up with Fred and George, remember?"

"Oh, yeah…" still recovering from the joke.

"Of course I will be your girlfriend," Ginny assured, kissing his cheek.

Harry and Ginny walked and-in-hand back to their compartment, both blushing a bit. Harry slid the door open, and saw Ron and Violet playing wizard's chess, and Seth and Hermione talking in whispers-- most likely about house-elfs.

Harry and Ginny sat down next to Hermione, who beamed when she saw their interlocked hands. Harry smiled down at his new girlfriend and placed a kiss atop her head, his thumb stroking the back of her hand softly. Violet and Ron were looking open-mouthed at them.

"What the--?" they said in unison, pointing at Harry and Ginny's hands.

"What?" Harry asked innocently, his eyes sparkling.

"N--never mind," Ron said, turning his head back to the chessboard. That was Ron's was of dealing with things; pretend they weren't happening.

Violet, however, just stared at Harry.

"How the heck did you get a girlfriend?" she asked blatantly.

"Well, Vi. You see it was quite simple, see--" Harry started cheekily.

"I don't want to know what you do on your own time! I haven't got a clue as to why I even asked…" Violet murmured, and she followed Ron's suit.

Ginny grinned up at Harry. Then Hermione spoke up, looking at her new watch.

"Its nearly time. We should change into robes."

Seth merely stared at her.

"We have to wear _what _now?" he snapped.

"Robes," Hermione said.

"Nobody said anything about these _robes_!"

"Seth-- You have to wear them. It's policy," Violet said nervously, pleading with her brother.

"Harry!" Set said. "Did you know about these _robes_?" he spit out the word with distaste.

"Err-- Well Mum said it was best that you didn't know, otherwise you would have downright refused not to come…" Harry trailed off at the furious look on Seth's face.

"_I--am--not--going--to--wear--those--bloody--repulsive--robes_!" Seth ground out each word through gritted teeth. Without warning, Seth strode out of the compartment.

Ginny looked at Harry.

"Is he always like this?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"I can't say I blame him," she replied fairly, examining her robes lying on her lap. "These _are_ pretty bloody repulsive… And completely unflattering."

"Anything would look good on you, Gin," the comment slipped out before Harry could think twice. Fortunately, she didn't take this as being too forward. She merely smiled and blushed.

They all changed into robes in a comfortable silence. They could hear the entire train buzzing with excitement as the Hogwarts Express reeled to a dead stop in Hogsmeade Station.

"Oh, I can't believe we're finally here!" Violet exclaimed.

"You're going to love it here!" Hermione gushed. "I simply _have_ to show you the library! It's _fantastic_!"

"Okay!" Violet said eagerly.

"Hey, umm don't you think we should look for Seth?" Ginny asked Harry and the others.

"He never gets lost. We'll see him at the feast, not wearing his robes, and everything will go back to normal. Trust me," Harry said.

"Harry's right," Violet agreed. "I know my twin brother, and he forgives petty things easily."

"Oh. So shall we get a move on, then? Don't you all have to still get sorted?" Ron asked Violet and Harry.

It felt as if an ice cube slid into Harry's stomach at Ron's words. What if he wasn't in Gryffindor? Then he wouldn't be able to see Ginny, and just wouldn't do at all.

""I'm sure you'll be in Gryffindor," Ginny reassured Harry in an undertone as they exited the train. He smiled at her and slid his hand into hers.

"Professor McGonnagall wrote to Mum and Dad and said that we go in with the older students--we can sit with whichever House we like--and Professor Dumbledore will call us up to the front when it's out turn to be sorted," Violet announced to the group. She looked like she could be a Weasley, with her hair colour and robes on.

"Brilliant," Harry said dryly. Ginny squeezed his hand in a comforting way. He suddenly felt relatively cheery.

As they made their way up to the Hogwarts castle in the carriages, Harry let his mind wander to what had happened in the boys' lavatory just a few hours ago. Just the thought of it made him smile.

"Harry, we're here," Ginny said, tapping him on the arm.

"Mmkay," he mumbled. He didn't want to get up. He was quite content to sit there, with Ginny's head on his shoulder, and his resting on top of hers. It just seemed so comfortable.

"Come on, Harry," Ginny laughed when Harry still hadn't moved. "Everyone's gone ahead of us. They got tired of waiting."

"I must have dozed off," Harry said, sitting up. "But in the mean time…" Harry leaned over and kissed Ginny sweetly on the lips.

Ginny smiled against his lips, and reluctantly pulled away.

"Seriously, Harry. We have to go before it starts without us."

"Okay…" Harry jumped out of the carriage, and held out a hand for Ginny. She took it and hopped down next to him.

"Come on!" Ginny said, leading the way to the Great Hall, Harry trailing along behind her by the hand.

"Whoa," Harry said as they entered the hall. But he wasn't talking about the enchanted ceiling. He was referring to the hundreds of girls staring up at him. "Oh well…" he sighed.

Harry put his arm around Ginny's shoulders as they made their way towards the Gryffindor Table--and Ron, Hermione, Violet and (as expected) Seth. Ginny smirked imperiously from beside her boyfriend.

"They sure do like you, Harry," Ginny said from beside him.

"Yeah, too bad I'm taken," Harry smiled down at Ginny, and she returned it.

"Of course! That Ginny Weasley is a lucky girl."

"And that Harry Potter is a lucky guy."

"Of course," Ginny teased as they sat down at the Gryffindor table. A figure rose from the staff table. It was Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As he spoke, not a single person made a sound.

"I would like to welcome you all to another year at Hogwarts," Dumbledore announced in a deep, booming voice. "This year, our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will one again be Professor Remus Lupin."

Here, Dumbledore paused for applause. Harry, Violet and Seth waved at Remus, one of their father's best friends. They referred to him as Uncle Remus. Professor Lupin waved back at them.

"Now, before we sort our first years sorting, join me in welcoming some new students to Hogwarts," Dumbledore said. "Will Seth, Violet, and Harry Potter please come to the staff table to be sorted?"

**A/N: My first cliffy! Haha. I promise I'll update soon again! I didn't feel the need to describe the Great Hall. WE all know what it looks like! Haha. Okay, hoped you like it! Review, please! :) -allyrachelle**

**p.s. Seth is sort of a bookworm, but mainly just Muggle fiction and since he likes to use big words, the dictionary. haha**


	6. The First Feast

**Disclaimer: I wish I was as good a writer and as rich as JKR, but I am afraid that since I don't own Harry Potter, I am still without pocket money of my own…**

**A/N: Thanks to you who reviewed, and if you review, I always reply if I can, and I usually give some insight into the plot, so review, please!**

**Chapter 6: The First Feast **

Harry, Seth and Violet all got up silently, and walked slowly to the staff table. Every eye was on them, and the only sound to be heard was the soft buzzing of the boys, and the not-so-soft giggles of the girls as they stared up at Harry and Seth. Violet, however, had a strange look on her face as she watched all of the girls goggle at her brothers.

She felt a slight pang of annoyance and loneliness as she walked beside Seth. Seth, obviously sensing something was up, gave her a smile and linked arms with her.

Suddenly, there was an outburst of giggles and _awwwww'_s. Violet, Seth, and Harry all turned around to see none other than Cookie dashing up the aisle towards Seth. Cookie was slipping and sliding as he scuttled along. Seth turned and retreated, picking up the small kitten and resting him on his shoulder.

The three Potters arrived at the staff table and came to a halt in front of the stern-looking Professor McGonnagall. She looked at them all, tilting her mouth in what must have been her version of a polite smile.

"Well, Misters and Miss Potter," McGonnagall started, speaking softly. "Since you are all newcomers to the school, you will be sorted first. Just merely sit on the stool, and I will place the Sorting Hat on your head. You will then be Sorted."

Harry, Violet, and Seth all nodded, showing their understanding. McGonnagall pointed to Violet first.

"Miss Potter, please take a seat," McGonnagall said gesturing towards the stool.

The crowd all watched on as Violet sat down on the stool, and McGonnagall placed a shabby, well-worn hat on her head. A tear near the brim ripped open wide and began to speak.

"Well, well, well. I was wondering when I could sort a Potter. Your father was a particularly difficult choice, but in the end, I decided on Gryffindor. However, young lady, you have a particularly sharp mind, and are quite loyal. And yet, you possess a strong sense bravery above all else. You pick a friend in the most unusual places, as well. Right then… better be--"

Violet closed her eyes in a silent prayer.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The entire Gryffindor table whooped and clapped as Violet gave Seth a fist pound and skipped off towards the Gryffindor House table. McGonnagall pointed to Seth.

"Your turn, Mr. Potter," she said, gesturing once more to the stool.

Seth sauntered over and perched on the small stool, looking relatively relaxed. He was still not wearing his robes. The Sorting Hat was placed upon his head, and started to talk at once.

"Ah, I see. You are quite the loner, yes. But with plenty of courage… A hard outer shell, and a sharp mind. You have a thirst to prove yourself in your family, but you aren't sure how… Overall, a bit like young Lily Evans."

Seth locked eyes with Violet from across the Hall.

"Although you can be a bit dark at times, you never intend for harm… I know--"

Seth sat up straight.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Seth hopped off the stool and clapped Harry on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, mate," Seth said." I'm sure that Ginny would move on quite easily if you were in Slytherin."

Harry glowered at his younger brother and he retreated towards the crowded and screaming Gryffindor table to join Violet and the others. McGonnagall turned towards Harry. The girls in the crowd sighed as he turned towards the professor, ruffling his hair a bit absent-mindedly.

"Yeah, I know. It's my turn…" Harry grumbled as he climbed onto the stool and the old hat was placed on the final Potter's head.

"Ah… I see you have a great power. You have a strong magical aura," the hat said in a smooth, deep voice. "You have plenty of talent, you are just in need of putting that to good use. You can stand up for yourself, et can be quite bashful at times. You are capable of great things, yet you hold back, slightly afraid of what might come of your actions. And not a bad mind either…Yet, you are loyal to your friends and nasty to your enemies. You are in dire need of help in the hair department…"

The crowd laughed--and giggled, in the case of the girls--and Ginny winked at Harry from her seat. Harry smiled at her, flushing a bit at the combination of Ginny and the hat's comment.

"But where to put you?-- Yes! I've got it--" the hat spoke loud and clear, so everyone in the Hall could hear.

Harry silently prayed that he would be placed in--

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry released a long breath, slumping a bit in his seat. A deafening roar reached his ears as he got up and practically ran towards the Gryffindor table to meet his friends, family, and girlfriend.

Harry sat down beside Ginny and gave her a huge hug. Ginny leaned over a whispered some thing into his ear.

"You did it! Now we can both be in Gryffindor! I'm so excited!"

Harry grinned and kissed the side of her head softly. She smiled at him and released him in order for Violet to come and practically attack her brother.

"Harry!" Violet said excitedly, nearly knocking him over with the force of her hug. "Isn't his SO wonderful? Mum and Dad will be SO pleased!"

"I know! Isn't this just SO amazing?" Harry said, mimicking her.

"Oh, shut up, Harry," Violet swatted his arm, but was still smiling nonetheless.

Seth looked up from his seat beside Hermione and gave Harry a rare smile.

"Whoa!" Ginny joked, "I didn't know those muscles in your face actually _worked_!"

Seth grinned and flipped his hair casually. He always did that. It was sort of like a nervous twitch for him.

They all sat there, watching the small first years get sorted into their Houses. Well, all that is--except Harry. He was completely distracted as Ginny's hand was resting on his knee. She was tracing small circles on his kneecap absentmindedly. Harry shivered involuntarily, and Ginny looked over at him with an inquisitive look on her face. He shook his head in a way to say, _I'm fine, don't worry about it_. She shrugged and turned back to watch the sorting, while Harry just sat and watched her facial expressions.

Harry made a mental note to tell her later on when they were alone how beautiful she was. Harry was snapped out of his reverie by the deep voice of Albus Dumbledore. Harry then noticed that the sorting was over, and he hadn't taken in a single detail in the last half an hour except the contours of Ginny's face…

"Now, I would like to say that we have a great number of students this year! I hope you all had a delightful time," Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling as he looked around at the faces of the new first years with a soft smile.

The first years, however, were not smiling back at him. They did in fact _not_ have a good time at all. Many of them were still shaking from their nerves at being sorted and suddenly ushered off into a completely unfamiliar castle.

"Now," Dumbledore continued, still smiling, "I will only say a few words for now, as I know I am famished. And those few words are, 'Tuck in!'"

"Hear, hear!" Violet and Ron yelled, clanking their now-full goblets as the food magically appeared on the four long, wooden House tables.

_____

Harry leaned back as far as the bench he was sitting on would allow him to. Ginny was right in telling him that the food here at Hogwarts was delicious. He yawned widely and suddenly realized that he was extremely tired.

The golden plate in front of him wiped itself clean of all food scraps, and the Hall began to quiet down as Professor Dumbledore stood up to address the students. His eye were twinkling and he looked like a small boy excited to see his friends after a long vacation away from home. His long white beard was tied neatly in front of his, and his arms were spread out wide on either side of him as he spoke.

"Now, I know you all are tired, and want to leave to reunite with the warm comforts of your beds, so I will therefore cut this short. As you all know, last year we had the fourth years take their OWLs and the sixth years take their NEWTs. Many of you wondered why we had done this, but now you will all know why."

The students looked excitedly at each other.

"This year, Hogwarts will be hosting a legendary event; The Triwizard Tournament."

Ginny gasped, as did everyone around them. Harry's jaw dropped open, and Seth looked unconcerned, whereas Violet and Ron had a gleam in their eyes.

"However, the rules have changed, so there will only be one school participating each year. So as you can see, it might not be Hogwart's turn to host the tournament for several years. Now, before you get all of your hopes up, I must inform you that there is an age requirement. I am afraid that you have to be of at least fifteen years of age to take part in the tournament," Dumbledore said. A few of the students groaned and shouted, but the majority of them were excited, as they were the age of fifteen or older. "You need only enter your name into the Goblet of Fire, but I will inform you more about the tournament and the way to enter your name the at a later date. Now, I must say goodnight to you all," Dumbledore said this in a tone of voice that instantly meant the subject ended here.

_____

"Can you believe it, Harry?" Ginny asked from beside Harry as they bustled out of the Great Hall. Students all around them were buzzing excitedly about the Tournament. Even the Muggle-borns knew about the tournament.

"No, this is going to be an exciting first year!" Harry replied animatedly.

"So, do you think you might want to enter?" Ginny asked.

"No, I don't think I will. I don't want _too_ much drama to happen to me in my first year," Harry said. "What about you?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe, but then again, I want to spend most of my free time hanging out and having fun since I already took my OWLs, not stressing about the tournament."

"Well, Ginevra Weasley, you make a fair point," Harry said, putting his arm around Ginny.

As they climbed the moving staircases to the Gryffindor common room, Ron and Violet chatted anxiously about the Triwizard, and Seth was talking to Hermione in whispers about something, but Harry nor Ginny could make out what was being said.

After several minutes of climbing steps, they came u to the portrait of the fat lady, who marked the entrance to the common room. She was wearing a frilly pink dress, and chatting with a witch who was being addressed to as 'Vi.'

"Oh! Password?" the fat lady asked, noticing the group of Gryffindors waiting to give her the password to enter their common room.

"Audax at fidelis," Hermione said from beside Seth and Ron.

"What is with these weird passwords?" Ron asked, acting a bit giddy after the Triwizard announcement.

"I don't know," Ginny said as she yawned from beside Harry. "I'm going to go to bed. 'Night all."

Harry agreed, walking her over to the stairs and giving her a quick kiss before climbing up to the boy's dorms. He was going to share a dorm with Ron.

His head buzzing with thoughts of the great year ahead of him, Harry fell into a peaceful sleep, his face buried in his feathery pillow.

**A/N: and the plot thickens… haha the phrase **_**audax at fidelis **_**is Latin for "bold but faithful." I thought it sounded cool and it reminded me of the Fidelius Charm, so that's why I picked it. This chapters a bit shorter, but I wanted to get it out soon. The next will definitely be longer! Review please! :) **


	7. An Old Friend

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I own Honey, Hikaru&Kaoru (the twins), and Nekozawa from Ouran High School Host Club…

**A/N: Okay, so I am super jazzed that this story has picked up a steady following. Thanks SO much for the reviews, alerts, and favourites! They really mean a lot to me. It makes me smile when I check my e-mail and see that I have about 20 unread messages from Fan Fiction .net! I haven't been this happy with a story since I wrote Glimpses of the Future, so THANK YOU ALL! 3 **

**Now…here's the next chapter!**

**Chapter 7: An Old Friend**

Harry awoke the very early the next morning. He looked around the dormitory to see that he was the first one awake. Harry put on his glasses and stretched, looking at his watch. It was barely past six o'clock.

Harry yawned and got up to go down to the common room to get some alone time and to look out at the grounds from the window. Harry opened the dormitory door and made his way down the stairs. He was about to walk over to the window, but stopped as he saw a girl sitting on the sofa, already fully dressed.

He walked over to her; she seemed oddly familiar to Harry. She had dark brown hair that fell into her face. She was wearing black skinny jeans and was wearing eyeliner. She had bright, striking blue eyes and a slightly pale face. She was ruffling her hair, apparently in her own far-off world.

Then it hit him.

"Irisa?" Harry asked. The girl stopped her hair-ruffling and looked up at him. Her eyes widened a bit as she scanned his face.

"Harry?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said quietly. Irisa ran over to give him a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I've been coming here since I was eleven," she replied, flipping hr long hair out of her eyes with a smile.

"But you never told us that you were a witch!" Harry said.

"And I could same the same to you," she said.

"So _this_ is the boarding school you go to?"

"Yeah," Irisa said. She was about to say more, but she was interrupted by a loud thumping noise, and a big mass of black attached itself to her.

"REESEY!" Seth wailed, not releasing his grip from Irisa.

"Seth?"

"Who else do you know that calls you Reesey?" Harry asked with a smirk.

"True," Irisa said, smiling, as Seth released her.

"What are you doing here?" Seth asked, almost looking as if he was holding back tears of joy.

"I'm a witch," Irisa said simply.

"But you weren't at the Feast," Seth said, biting his lip.

"Yeah, well I don't really go to those things," Irisa said, looking at Harry. "Nice robes by the way."

"I agree!" Seth said, stifling a laugh at his brother's attire. "Did you sleep in those?"

"Shut up, the both of you," Harry scolded. "I'm still older than you."

"By a year," Irisa and Seth said in unison.

"I swear, I don't know how you two do that. He does that with Violet, too," Harry said, referring to the way they seemed to know what the other was thinking.

They both laughed, as Harry retreated up the stairs. Although it seemed as though Irisa's laugh was hollow…

"Now I will leave you two alone. I have to take a shower," Harry said.

But they didn't hear him; they were too busy chatting each other's ears off.

_____

Harry pushed the soft towel in his ears, trying to get the water out. He was glad that he was not starting classes today, but when he did, he was also going to spend all of his free periods with Ginny.

Harry took out his wand and performed a quick drying spell on his hair and changed into some fresh jeans and a t-shirt. He quickly tied up his sneakers, checking the time. It was nearly time to go down to breakfast. He was going to meet Ginny in the common room so they could walk down together.

Harry took a quick look in the mirror and polished his glasses hastily before departing for the common room.

_____

"Ehhhhhh…" Seth groaned, trying to get a way for his hair straightener to work. Hermione had taught him a spell, but he couldn't quite remember how it went. After several minutes of thinking, he just decided that he would run down to the Muggle Studies room, since they sometimes have electricity.

"Ahhhhh! Success!" the plug slid into the outlet as Seth programmed the heater to the highest temperature possible.

Seth had taken to straightening his hair lately, and today was no exception. He tried desperately to get it to lie flat. After what seemed like hours, his hair was to his satisfaction.

Seth looked at the time and saw there was only a few minutes until breakfast was over. But he didn't care. Classes weren't starting for another week, due to the Triwizard champion selections and such.

Seth strolled down the corridor, his hands in his pockets, after sending his straightener to his dormitory. He absentmindedly let his thoughts sway to one of his best friends…

_____

"Seth!" Ginny called out as he entered the Great Hall. "Where were you?"

"I was straightening my hair…" Seth replied he was feeling in more of a chatty mood than was usual for him.

Harry was about to say something when Ginny nudged him in the ribs, silencing him.

"I think it looks nice," Ginny commented.

"Er-- thanks, I guess," Seth finished a bit lamely. He was never very good with compliments.

Ginny smiled at him, while he blushed a deep red colour. Someone had just appeared behind Ginny.

"Oh! Ginny, this is Irisa," Harry turned to introduce Ginny to his old friend.

"Hello! Harry's told me some stuff about you," Ginny said, turning around to wave at Irisa.

"Hiya!"

"So," Ginny said with an evil smirk, " I understand that you have known the Potters for several years. But, can you tell me if you have any embarrassing stories of Harry?"

Irisa laughed. "I have plenty."

"Now, now, ladies," Harry replied quickly. "Lets not go telling stories, now!"

"Oh, yes, I forgot. I am spending the whole day with Harry, here, so it seems as though your stories will have to wait until later," Ginny laughed at the look on Harry's face.

"Come on, Ginny," Harry said suddenly. He had the feeling Irisa was going to say something more on the subject, and he just couldn't have that happen. He just got Ginny, and he didn't want to lose her over silly stories.

Harry was standing up and grabbed Ginny's hand, pulling her away from the table and out of the Great Hall. After they were far away from anyone else, Harry spoke.

"You don't _really_ want to hear embarrassing stories about me, do you?

Ginny laughed. "Why? Was I making you sweat in there?"

"That wasn't funny, Ginny!" Harry exclaimed, suddenly catching on the fact that what she had just done was just to get him wound up, and nothing more.

"Really? Because I found it _very_ amusing."

"Oh yeah? Two can play at this game," Harry said mischievously. "I think I'll just go have a chat with Ron about _your_ life."

Ginny stopped laughing. "You wouldn't."

"No, I wouldn't. You are _far_ too intimidating," Harry said.

Ginny smiled at him, then turned her attention to his hair.

"I love your hair, do you know that?" she said, threading her fingers though the tips of his jet black locks.

Harry decided this was just a statement, and that he really didn't need to answer her. Harry reached up and touched the side of her face. Then he remembered.

"Can I tell you a secret?" he asked. Ginny smiled and nodded. Harry leaned over and whispered in her ear.

"I don't think I've ever told you this, but I think you are beautiful."

When Harry leaned back, he saw Ginny turning slightly pink at the compliment, but she smiled nonetheless.

"Yesterday, during the sorting, I made a mental note to tell you…" Harry said, suddenly, slightly embarrassed after he did.

"Well do you know what _I_ think?" Ginny asked, stepping a bit closer towards his ear. "I think that you are lucky that you have me to save you from getting mauled be hundreds of girls."

Harry started laughing, and was joined by Ginny. He slung an arm around her shoulders and they walked down the corridor, going nowhere in particular.

"So, isn't Dumbledore going to explain more about the Triwizard tonight?"

"Yes, I think so," Ginny replied. "Who do you think is going to enter?"

"I honesty don't have a clue. I don't really know very many people here," Harry said, shrugging.

"What about Seth…?"

"I don't think so. He doesn't really like attention."

"Oh," Ginny said. "What about you? Have you thought about it anymore?"

"I think I'll sit this one out. Besides, I couldn't possibly concentrate on the tasks knowing that I could be spending time with you," Harry said.

Ginny smiled, kissing him on the cheek.

"Aww, you're so sweet."

"Hey," Harry said abruptly. "Can I show you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

Harry reached into his pocket an took out a piece of old and worn parchment. By the looks of it, it was completely blank. Ginny looked up at Harry, but he was taking out his wand. He smiled and tapped the parchment.

"_I solemnly swear that I am up to no good_," Harry muttered.

Instantly, words appeared on the parchment.

_Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs_

_Would Like to Present:_

_THE MAURADERS MAP_

Ginny looked up at Harry, who was smiling. He nodded his head at the map and she reverted her gaze back upon the parchment.

Spidery lines were etching themselves on the map. They formed many rooms and corridors, and even some secret passageways. Suddenly, Ginny looked up.

"Harry? Is this a map of--?"

"Hogwarts," Harry confirmed. "My dad gave this to me when we found out we were going to come here. I studied it so I could find my way around the castle."

Ginny looked back at the map. There were hundreds of tiny dots moving around the page. Each has a small name beside them. She looked for the Seventh Floor corridor and saw two dots standing right where they were. They were labelled _Harry Potter _and _Ginevra Weasley._

Ginny scanned the map once more. She could see her brother in the Great Hall with Hermione and the others. She looked up at Harry.

"This is amazing!"

"Isn't it?" Harry said as he looked at the map in admiration. "My dad, uncle Remus, godfather Sirius, and my dad's old friend that moved to France, Peter Pettigrew--they don't really talk to him much."

"Remus Lupin?" Ginny asked. At Harry's nod, she continued. "He doesn't seem like the type to help create something like this."

"And yet he did. He was moony, Sirius was Padfoot, my dad was Prongs, and Pettigrew was Wormtail.

"Brilliant!" Ginny said. She pointed to a passageway. "This leads to Honeydukes?"

Harry smiled and nodded.

"What are we waiting for?" Ginny said, tugging on his arm.

"Ginny wait," Harry said, stopping. He pulled out a bundle of something from his pocket. "My dad also gave me this…"

Harry unfolded the small bundle and handed it to Ginny.

"An Invisibility Cloak!" Ginny exclaimed. "Where does your dad get this stuff?"

"I don't know," Harry said. "But Ginny, you can't tell _anyone_ about this stuff, not even Seth and Violet, deal?"

"Deal!" Ginny swung the Cloak over herself and Harry. They hurried down the corridor in the direction of the One-Eyed Witch statue, while Ginny chatted excitedly about Honeydukes' chocolate.

_____

**A/N: Now, I must say that Irisa (eye-ree-suh) is a character inspired by my sister. I originally had my sisters name (Tarissa) for the character, but to me, it just didn't feel right. But I don't care if she beats me up for changing the name after I wrote the first few pages! I don't really like using real names of people I know in stories, because then it seems like I'm writing it **_**for**_** them, and I'm definitely not. That sort of thing belongs in **_**Jonas Brothers **_**fan fiction, my dears. Hehe Review, please : )**

**p.s. I wrote that scene with Harry and Ginny while listening to Fall For You by Secondhand Serenade, so I feeling extra gushy :P hehe**


	8. Honeydukes

**Disclaimer: I don't own it… sadly.**

**A/N: Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry! I've been uber-busy lately, so I'm going to update A Night in California really soonish so that its over and done with! This fic is my real love :) I just cant resist Sethie! :3 Thanks for the reviews! Here's the next one :)**

**Chapter 8: Honeydukes**

Seth groaned angrily as he considered smacking his head on the wall. _Hard_. This was certainly _not_ the time for his hair to be uncooperative! He was about to go into the Great Hall for lunch, and his hair was completely _atrocious!_ Of course, this was in his opinion, so naturally, his hair was perfect to an outsider looking in.

Seth fumbled with the dial on his candy red hair straightener. Lunch was just about coming to a close, which meant that Seth was going to be late. So Seth once again was to be found hiding in the Muggle Studies classroom straightening his already straight hair--without permission.

Footsteps sounded on the other side of the classroom door. Seth cursed under his breath as he hastily continued with his hair, not willing to give up and go to lunch with "wavy" hair. Just as he grabbed another strip of jet-black hair, the door flew open.

"So yeah, I was like, 'Harry is sooo cute' and she was like--" the chattering dark-haired girl suddenly stopped talking as she saw Seth standing right in the middle of the classroom.

"Ugh! I should have just used the other outlet that was hidden over in the corner…" Seth murmured to himself under his breath.

But the girls paid no attention to his mutterings as they slowly formed an ever-closing circle around him. The dark-haired girl spoke.

"Aren't you Harry Potter's brother?" she asked eagerly, still advancing on Seth.

"Err--"

"Of course he is, Romilda!" a blonde girl spoke to her dark-haired friend. "Just look at him, and you can tell!"

"Yes, of course Lavender. I can't believe I even had to ask," Romilda said kindly to her friend, whose name was obviously Lavender.

"So, Seth is it?" Romilda asked, looking quite menacing to Seth, even though she was younger than him.

Seth merely gulped as his eyes darted around, looking for the best way to escape. He saw the door ahead of him, but the girls were blocking the way. So, Seth did the only thing he could do-- he held on to his precious hair straightener for dear life.

"So, _Sethie_," Romilda said in a sickeningly sweet voice, batting her eyelashes at him. "Is it true that your dear brother is seeing someone at the moment?"

"Where were you this whole time?" Seth asked incredulously, still not moving a muscle, his arms wrapped protectively around his straightener. "Seriously? Did you _not_ see him with Ginny at the feast? It was kind of hard to miss them, to be honest."

Romilda's eyes narrowed.

"I'm sorry, but I just found it hard to believe that a guy like Harry would go out with a girl like _Weasley_," she spat out the name, looking like someone had just offended her.

Seth was feeling very uncomfortable at this point. He wasn't exactly the best at dealing with girls. And they were looking at him expectantly. _What am I supposed to say?_ Seth thought quickly.

xxx

Harry and Ginny were well on their way to the one-eyed witch statue when Ginny suddenly stopped. She was staring at the map with a slightly worried expression on her face. Then, without warning, she ducked out from under the cloak and took off along the corridor towards a classroom Harry had never been in before.

Harry swung the cloak off of him, and ran after her. After he caught up with her, he stopped, clutching a stitch in his side. _She is a fast runner…_

"Ginny, what--?" but Ginny cut him off with a quick "Shh!"

She pointed into the classroom before turning around to him.

"Put the cloak back on!" she whispered hurriedly.

Harry obliged quickly, without a word. He knew enough from Ron and her older brothers to not disobey Ginny. As he threw the cloak over himself, Ginny disappeared into the classroom.

xxx

The classroom door burst open just as Romilda was about to ask Seth another question about Harry. Seth squealed quite girlishly at the sight of Ginny. He was rescued!

"Vane, Brown," Ginny said curtly, glaring at Romilda and Lavender in turn.

"Weasley," the two girls spat in unison. They had gotten along quite well, despite being in different years.

"Do you mind telling me what you where doing to poor little Seth here?" Ginny asked, nodding at Seth, still clutching his straightener like it was a teddy bear. He looked quite childish, standing there all vulnerable.

"Nothing," Romilda said automatically.

"It was _not_ 'nothing'!" Seth proclaimed throwing his arm in the air for dramatic effect.

Ginny looked at the girls expectantly.

"Whatever," she said after a few moments of silence. "I don't even care anymore. Come on, Seth."

Ginny held out her hand to Seth and he took it, looking back and making a face at Romilda and Lavender behind Ginny's back as they walked out of the Muggle Studies classroom.

xxx

Ginny climbed out of the portrait hole leading out of Gryffindor common room. She had just dropped Seth off after letting him grab a quick sandwich from the Great Hall for lunch. He just couldn't bear facing those girls again.

"Harry?" she whispered, felling around for her invisible boyfriend. "You can take the cloak off now!"

Directly in front of her, Harry appeared out of thin air. He looked at her strangely.

"Why exactly did I have to put the cloak on?" he asked her curiously.

"Well, I reckon it wouldn't have turned out well if Vane and Brown saw you, so…" she shrugged. Harry smiled gratefully at her. She smiled back as he took her hand.

"To Honeydukes?" he asked after he checked if people were around.

"To Honeydukes!" Ginny said happily as Harry threw the cloak over them once more.

They hurried down the hall together towards the one-eyed witch statue for the second time that day. When Harry and Ginny reached their destination, Harry took out his wand and tapped the witch's hump while he muttered "_Dissendium!_" Ginny watched as a small hole appeared in the witch's sloped back.

Harry ducked out from under the cloak and quickly motioned for Ginny to do the same. Harry jumped through the hole and slid down a long slide. Ginny heard him call out to her softly, so she hastily followed.

Ginny slid down the chute and landed on something. She realised at once that it was Harry.

"Oh-- I'm sorry!" Ginny apologized. Harry smiled.

"Not a problem…" Harry said, getting up after Ginny picked her self up off of him.

"Where are we?" Ginny asked, looking around her as her eyes adjusted to the light. They were in a small tunnel. Harry looked around.

"We are in a tunnel that leads to Honeydukes's cellar. We just follow this passageway and we're there!" he replied, pointing up the passage way. Harry lit his wand and checked the map. "Yes. You got the cloak?"

Ginny nodded. "Yup!"

"Then lets go," Harry said, taking the cloak and stuffing it into his pocket. "I'm bloody starving."

Ginny giggled as she too lit her wand. She fell into step beside Harry as they continued up the tunnel. After a while, Harry reached out and took her hand.

xxx

"Are we almost there?" Ginny asked, panting slightly after about half and hour in the tunnel.

"Yeah," Harry said checking the map. "It's just up these steps."

Harry turned to look at her. She looked pretty worn out, so he smiled and turned around and crouched down a bit.

"What?" Ginny asked, confused.

"I'll carry you," Harry said, over his shoulder. Ginny giggled but climbed onto his back nonetheless. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he held onto her legs and stood up.

They climbed the steep flight of stairs, Ginny's face buried in Harry's neck and messy hair. Her breath on the back if Harry's neck sent shivers down his spine. He smiled softly.

Harry reached the top of the stairs and pushed up on a trapdoor. Harry peered over the top and looked around. Ginny strained her neck trying to see as well.

"Okay, no one's here. I think we are okay," Harry said in relief. "But just in case lets sneak out the basement door and come in through the front…"

"Okay," Ginny replied softly.

Harry set her down next to him and helped lift her out of the tunnel and into the sweetshop's cellar. Harry climbed up next to her and took out his cloak. He covered them with it and closed the trapdoor, making it blend in to the hard wood floor.

"Let's go."

Harry and Ginny made their way up the stairs of the cellar and slipped into the main store. Thankfully, no one saw the door open of its own accord, so the couple slowly inched back to the hallway leading up to the flat above the sweetshop. They slipped out the back door located at the end of the hallway and took off the cloak.

"Thank Merlin," Ginny said. "It was getting stuffy under that cloak…"

Harry smiled at her and agreed. He took her hand in his, twining their fingers together. They walked around the shop and entered into the front door. A faint bell jingled as they entered the slightly crowded sweetshop for the second time.

"Harry!" Ginny whispered. It had just occurred to her. "What if someone notices we're students and reports the school?"

"Nah, I think we'll be okay," Harry said, shrugging. "Older ladies tend to… How do I put this?… Well lets just say they let me get away with things."

"Harry James Potter!" Ginny chided playfully. "How dare you use your adorable charm on anyone other than your darling girlfriend?"

Harry grinned, kissing the top of her head.

"Well, in my defence, I am using it so I can spend time with my darling girlfriend," Harry said, smirking his trademark smirk that made Ginny's knees go weak.

"Fine," Ginny caved. "But next time you aren't getting off so easily!"

"Of course."

Ginny leaned up and kissed him on the lips. She patted him on the head.

"Good boy," Ginny said, turning around to start pursuing the shelves stocked full of candy.

xxx

Harry and Ginny left Honeydukes, their arms laden with bags full of candy. They threw the cloak back over themselves and navigated their way back into the tunnel and to the castle (Harry was levitating the bags in front of them).

They were about to head up to the common room, but instead, Harry suddenly changed courses. Ginny looked at him curiously. He smiled at her in a way that made her heart flutter, and butterflies erupted in her stomach.

"I reckon we can get more privacy at the lake," Harry said, blushing a bit. Ginny looked up at him and grinned.

"That's a wonderful idea, Harry," Ginny said, wrapping her arms around his waist as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"There!" Harry suddenly pointed to a secluded spot along the edge of the Black Lake.

Ginny smiled, finally able to live out her dream she had had since she was 12--to have a romantic date with the boy of her dreams… that includes all of her favourite candies, too!

**A/N: There you go! Sorry! I'll update a lot sooner now that school is almost out. I'll post the last chapter of A Night in California soon so I will be able to just focus on this one. The Triwizard gets started up in the next chappie, but in this chapter I felt like writing some quality Harry/Ginny fluff. Hehe the next one will be much longer.**


	9. Romilda's Plan

**Disclaimer: I am not an incredibly wealthy woman named JK Rowling.**

**A/N: Oh my goodness! She did it! She updated!!! Haha sorry it took so long, but I've had a bit of writer's block lately, but I have a new inspiration! Here's the next chapter, and thanks SO much for the wonderful reviews! **

**Chapter 9: Romilda's Plan**

Harry swished his foot around in the murky water of the Black Lake. Just under the surface, he could see the Giant Squid peering up at him. When Harry looked back a moment later, however, the Squid had gone. Ginny's head was resting in Harry's lap, while she fed herself some Honeydukes chocolates. Harry was gently stroking her hair with his right hand, while leaning back on his left arm.

Harry gazed down at Ginny with his vivid emerald eyes. He couldn't believe that this beautiful creature laying before him was his _girlfriend_! He just couldn't understand why a girl like Ginny would want to go out with a guy like him. In his opinion, he thought she was much too good for him.

Ginny's eyes fluttered up to meet his gaze and she smiled softly. She reached up and softly caress the back of his neck.

"Whatcha' thinking about?" she asked him.

"You," Harry answered truthfully, making Ginny blush slightly. "What?"

"Oh, nothing," Ginny said, looking up at him lovingly. "That was just really sweet."

Harry smiled, pleased with himself. He bent down and kissed her sweetly, pulling back to play with her hair. Oh, how he loved her hair. It was long and soft, and the way it shined in the afternoon light just added to the effect.

Ginny shifted her body so she was level with Harry. She moved and sat on his lap, her arms going around his neck. Harry wrapped his arms around her waist and she rested her head on his shoulder.

As the two were locked in their bubble of solitude, they didn't notice the two girls hiding behind them in the bushes…

xxx

"Romilda! Why are we doing this again?" Lavender asked exasperatedly, still not complete sure of what their 'plan' was. Romilda rolled her eyes.

"Lavender, we are doing this so I can get rid of that Weasley girl!"

"But I thought that since you love Harry so much you would let him be," Lavender tried to reason with her friend. "He looks so happy, and you wouldn't want to take that away from the love of your life, now would you?"

Romilda scowled.

"He will be much more happy with me," she sniffed.

Lavender's shoulders slumped. She wasn't really sure what was going through her friend's mind at the moment. Although Lavender thought that Harry was quite good-looking, her heart really belonged to a curtained red-haired Quidditch player; Ron Weasley. She would never tell Romilda, of course. She would never be able to stand the constant ridicule.

However, Lavender still loved Ron, but she had given up on him. Even a fool could see that he was in love with Hermione Granger, and nothing could change that. Not even Love Potions. But there was one thing Lavender _could_ do, and that was to keep her beloved Ron's best friend happy.

Romilda snapped her fingers in front of her friend's face. Lavender jolted out of her reverie, of sorts, and looked at her.

"What?" Romilda asked.

"Oh, nothing," Lavender said. "I was just caught up in how romantic they look together."

Romilda's eyes narrowed.

"Look at her," she hissed. "She's just soaking this up, dating the most popular guy in school. I bet she doesn't even love him! I reckon she's just dating him to be noticed!"

Lavender remained silent. She could tell that this statement was not true. It was quite obvious that Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley were very much in love, even if they didn't know it yet.

But still Romilda continued spying on the happy couple.

"Oh you just wait until I introduce myself to Harry!" Romilda said, sounding quite sure of herself. "I _know _he loves me, even if he hasn't realized it yet!"

Just then Harry turned his head and kissed Ginny right on the lips. The sight made Romilda groan aloud. He should be doing that to _her_, not Weasley! How _dare_ he?

Lavender was smiling slightly at the sight. Also, she sort of enjoyed the way her friend reacted. She truly loved Romilda like a sister, but sometimes, she needed to get what she deserved. This was one of those times.

Romilda stomped her feet and knotted her arms across her chest tightly.

"ARGH!" she exclaimed, having enough of this. She jumped out from her hiding spot in the bushes and charged straight at the couple. She stopped right in front of the Harry and Ginny and glared down at the redheaded girl.

Harry and Ginny, however, were so locked in their embrace that they had no clue that they were now joined by Romilda. Lavender, however was rolling around in the bushes, laughing hysterically at the look on her friend's face.

Romilda cleared her throat pointedly. To her horror, and Lavender's amusement, Harry and Ginny did not break apart. After several moments of this, Romilda got so frustrated that she bent down and prised Harry off of Ginny.

At first, Ginny's face held one of disappointment, but it quickly turned to anger at the sight of her sworn enemy. Romilda looked quite proud of herself.

Harry saw Ginny's eyes narrow dangerously. He knew that look, and he needed to get her as far away from another human being as possible… _fast_. Harry shifted Ginny so that she was no longer sitting in his lap and pulled her to her feet. He grabbed her hand and started to pull her away, back towards the castle--after snatching up the remaining candies, of course.

Romilda fled after the couple, screaming and flailing her arms about, making some not-so-subtle hint to Harry. However, Ginny was screaming back just as loud.

"You know, Harry, you deserve a girl who doesn't lose her temper so easily," Romilda called out. "I, however--"

"Oh, stuff it!" Ginny screamed, still being pulled along swiftly by Harry. "You are the one that started everything, you bloody hypocrite!"

At this point, Lavender decided that it was a good time to intervene, so she picked herself up from her hiding spot, clutching a stitch in her side, and made her way towards Harry, Ginny, and Romilda.

"Oh!" Romilda screamed. "This is _exactly_ what I am talking about, Harry dear! I just _cannot_ belie--"

Romilda was cut off by her friend's body knocking her to the ground. As Romilda was pinned, face-first into the ground, Lavender glanced up at Harry and Ginny, who had stopped, with amused looks on their faces. Lavender waved them forward, mouthing, "Go!"

Harry smiled his thanks, as did Ginny. Lavender nodded and waved them off again. As Harry and Ginny left for the castle, they could barely hear Romilda's yell, muffled by the grass.

xxx

It was a beautiful day, yet almost every Hogwarts student was roaming the corridors of the ancient and decrepit-looking school. Violet Potter was not an acceptation. She could be found sitting in front of the Gryffindor common room, right in front of the crackling fireplace that was lit, despite the heat outside.

Violet was the only one left in the common room, for everyone else was beginning to head down to the Great Hall. Tonight, Dumbledore would be explaining more about the Triwizard, and people wanted to get a good seat to ensure that they heard everything. Which, Violet thought, was unneeded, as Dumbledore spoke loud enough (and the students were always dead-silent when he spoke) that everyone could hear what was being said.

Violet, however, was not really concerned about the Tournament at the moment. She had other matters on her mind-- more important matters, at that. She was worried about her brothers.

Harry had been gone all day, without a word to her. She knew that Harry was almost of age, and that he could take care of himself, but she still felt a bit unsettled. Harry had always been the person she looked up to most. But that didn't mean that he couldn't be an idiot most of the time, and she was afraid that he had gotten himself into a dangerous situation.

And then there was Seth.

Seth was Violet's best friend, and he was acting quite lovesick lately. Violet, however, was the only one to pick up on this, as he was quite good at hiding his emotions. Even if Seth hated to admit it to himself, he was in love with Irisa. For some reason, this bugged Violet to no end. She would never say it aloud to anyone, but deep down, she was secretly jealous.

Seth was _her_ brother, _her _best friend, the only person she had a special connection with. And now _she_ had to come and ruin it? Lately, Seth had been distracted and not at all himself. And only one person was to blame: Irisa.

Violet shook her head, resigning to the fact that boys were idiots, and standing up. Violet brushed off her skirt and decided to head down the join the rest of the students down in the Great Hall.

xxx

Seth made his way into the Great Hall nearly half an hour after everyone else. He would do anything to seem cool around Irisa lately, it seemed to Violet. It was even quite sad, sometimes, the way he pined over her, even if no one but Violet noticed.

Violet suddenly looked around, noticing that she hadn't talked to Harry since they passed in the corridor a while ago. He had been with Ginny and they had said they were going to be down in a bit.

Then she spotted them. Her older brother and Ginny Weasley were sitting way down at the end of the table, far away from everyone else. They were sitting on the same bench, facing each other. Ginny's head was resting in her hand, as her elbow was propped up on the table, while girls of every age were staring at them from about a 20-foot radius.

As much as Violet was disgusted to see Harry be so… _gushy_, she couldn't help but feel a bit envious of the couple…

But she didn't need to worry about such a foolish thing right now. As before, she had much more important things on her mind. A prime example was _why_ exactly, Seth had entered the Great Hall so late.

"Hermione!" Violet called out to her older friend, who turned around at the sound of her name.

"Yes?"

"What have you done to my brother?"

Ron, who was sitting next to Hermione, turned and looked at his girlfriend expectantly.

"Oh hush, Ronald," Hermione said, knowing that look, then turning back to Violet. "Seth? I haven't done anything to him, why do you ask?"

"Oh," Violet said, waving her hand nonchalantly, "no reason."

Hermione shrugged and turned her attention back to Ron to finish telling him about her latest instalments in S.P.E.W., while he had the good manners to look interested.

Violet laughed and decided not to pursue the matter any further and Seth joined her at the Gryffindor table. And for once, as she talked to her twin brother, Violet thought about how wonderful it would be to be part of the Triwizard Tournament.

xxx

"Ginny," Harry whispered, gently stroking her hair. No luck.

"Gin," Harry whispered again, except kissing her on top of the head this time. Several girls cooed over how "sweet" he was being, and how they wished they were Ginny, when the noise of the dozens of whispers woke her up.

"Hmm?" Ginny mumbled, picking her head up from the comfortable position of Harry's shoulder. Harry smiled.

"Dumbledore's about to start," he whispered, pointing towards the staff table, where Dumbledore and some other men were setting up a large chest.

Ginny smiled gratefully at her boyfriend for letting her take a small kip on his shoulder. Harry kissed her on the cheek--causing several more sighs to erupt around them-- and then turned her around to face the staff table. Harry wrapped his arms around Ginny's waist and rested his head on her shoulder.

It was then that Dumbledore took his place in front of the staff table and raised his hands, signalling for silence.

"Now, residents of Hogwarts, I must ask you to silence your chatter for just a few moments so that I can introduce a few people to you all," Dumbledore said, gesturing towards the two new men sitting behind the staff table. "First, I would like to announce that Mr. Bartemius Crouch has taken time out from his busy job at the Ministry of Magic to come here to Hogwarts to help us all out with running the Triwizard Tournament."

Crouch had a very nice set of black robes on. He had a very straight part in his hair that ran straight down the middle of his scalp. He had a neat little moustache that looked like it had been combed at least five times a day.

"Now, I must introduce someone who hardly needs introducing at all," Dumbledore said, smiling down at all of his students. "Please join me in welcoming Mr. Ludovic Bagman!"

The whole crowd broke out into applause.

Bagman was a tall, yet slightly overweight man. He had blonde hair, round blue eyes, and a slightly flushed complexion. He had a sort of greedy look on his face, that was quickly masked with an obvious flashback to his days at school. Overall, his appearance gave the effect that he was an overgrown schoolboy.

"Merlin's pants," Ron muttered to Hermione, who he had been spending _way_ too much time with. "That's Ludo Bagman! He used to be Beater for the Wimbourne Wasps Quidditch team!"

Hermione stifled a laugh.

"That's wonderful, Ron."

**A/N: Okay, so I figured this was the best place to stop the chapter. Sorry again for the late update, and I promise you no matter how long it takes me to update, I WILL NOT drop this story! I love it wayyy too much! Hehe Review and I might just give you a clue to what will happen in the future of this story! (p.s. I never really liked Lavender, but I don't know, I sort of like her character…)**


	10. Snape's Biggest Fear

**Disclaimer: As much as I would like to claim ownership of Harry Potter, I am afraid that JK Rowling is the only one who can do so.**

**A/N: I LOVE YOU ALL! I just reached 50 reviews, and I am sooooooo happy! You are all so amazing for the reviews and alerts (which this story has reached 40 alerts YAY!)! Enjoy chapter 10 of Catching Her Eye!**

**Chapter 10: Snape's Biggest Fear**

"Now," Dumbledore clapped his hands together and gazing out into the sea of faces. "It is the portion of the evening where I will explain the rules and regulations for the Triwizard Tournament."

Violet straightened up a little bit in her seat, giving her full attention towards the Headmaster. Ron turned reluctantly away from Hermione and faced the front of the Great Hall.

"To enter the Triwizard Tournament, you need only write your name--first and last-- and House on a piece of parchment and enter it into the Goblet of Fire before this time tomorrow evening," Dumbledore said, gesturing towards the large chest next to him.

The chest melted to reveal an old looking goblet. It was dark in colour and wooden. Dumbledore tapped his wand on the goblet's brim, and a brilliant fire sprang up instantly. The fire, however, was not like the one in the Gryffindor common room with the basic orange and red colours. This fire, was the most amazing thing any of them had ever seen. It's flames were blue and white, with various different hues in between, and danced up to a foot in the air.

"Tomorrow we will congregate in this very hall to announce the three champions," Dumbledore said. "Now Mr. Crouch would like to state some rules before we all dig into our wonderful feast."

Mr. Crouch stepped forward once more and unrolled a large scroll of parchment, in which he started to read from.

"As we have said before, no one student may enter the Triwizard Tournament if he or she is under the age of fifteen years," Mr. Crouch said. "There will be three extremely dangerous tasks, and three champions who have to complete said tasks. The Goblet of Fire alone chooses the three students to compete, no exceptions. The Goblet of Fire will show no favouritism to one House, but will choose the students in which it deems worthy. The same will go for Professor Dumbledore, Mr. Bagman, and I, who will serve as judges for said Tournament."

Mr. Crouch nodded curtly to Dumbledore and returned to his seat.

"Thank you, Bartemius," Dumbledore said. "Now, the Goblet of Fire will be placed in the Entrance Hall directly after the feast and there it will remain until six o'clock sharp tomorrow evening, when we will announce the winners."

The crowd of students nodded, showing their understanding of the rules.

"And for those of you who think that they can trick the Goblet into thinking they are of age, you are sadly mistaken, for the Goblet always knows," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye that made some of the students shift uncomfortably in their seats. "Now, Mr. Bagman has something to say to you all."

The students groaned, as they were all starting to get extremely hungry. Mr. Bagman stepped forward with a toothy grin plastered on his face.

"Now I know that you all are just as excited for the Tournament to begin as I am, so I will cut this short. I wanted to say tat the three champions will be exempted from taking the final exams, but unfortunately, there will be no Quidditch this year. Now without further ado, let the Triwizard Tournament begin! Now tuck in!"

A loud cheer erupted at these words as students clapped and shovelled various foods into their mouths.

"So," Hermione said from next to Ron. "Who thinks that they might enter?"

"Me!" many voices were heard from around them.

"Really?" Hermione said. "Well I just hope that you all know what you are getting yourselves into. _I_, for one, am not going to waste my year participating in something so dangerous, and besides, I just mustn't miss the exams!"

"Blimey, 'Mione," Ron said around a mouthful of potato. "Only you would worry about not having to do exams."

Violet laughed from across the table next to Seth.

"So, Seth," Violet asked. "Do you think that you might enter?"

"I don't know. I doubt it," he shrugged, looking at his sister and taking a bite of dumplings.

Violet's eyes went wide as she stared at Seth in disbelief.

"What?" Seth asked. "Is it my hair? Oh darn, I knew it was way too wavy!"

"No, no, Seth," Violet stammered. "It's not your hair. Your hair is fine, but… When did you start eating school food?"

"Seth decided that eating food made by House-Elfs is better then starving," Hermione answered Violet's question.

"Whoa," Violet said in amazement. "Hermione, have I ever told you how much I appreciate what you do?"

"No," Hermione smiled, "but no worries."

"You are quite an influence," Ron said, rubbing Hermione's shoulder.

Hermione waved them off modestly saying, "Oh nonsense, I just give people a push in the right direction…"

xxx

"Gin?" Harry asked quietly from beside his girlfriend.

"Yes, Harry?"

"Well, I was thinking that maybe I might enter the Tournament…"

"Really?" Ginny asked, setting down her fork.

"Yeah, are you okay with that?" Harry asked.

"Harry, you do whatever you want to do. If you decide that you want to be in the Triwizard, you can bet that I will be there for you," Ginny said solemnly.

"Thanks, Gin. I guess I just needed to hear you say that."

"No problem, Harry."

Harry smiled and returned to his plate to finish eating.

xxx

The students of Hogwarts were just about finished with their meal when a soft noise was heard at the back of the Great Hall. At first only the few people sitting by the doors heard it. Their silence soon travelled all the way through the Hall until it reached the staff table.

Professor Severus Snape, the Potions Master, stood up and swept up the aisle, heading to investigate this strange noise. As Snape passed Harry and Ginny, his eyes flicked towards Harry for a moment, and he paused.

Harry smiled at Snape for a moment before the Professor gave him a curt nod in acknowledgement. Seeing this, Ginny turned curious eyes towards Harry, who merely shrugged in response. He didn't exactly need everyone in the school to hear that he had any sort of personal relations with Snape. Although Harry knew he could trust Ginny, it was very silent in the Hall and you could hear even the slightest noise at that very moment.

Snape strode towards the Great Hall's doors and pushed them open, peering around the corner. Just as everyone was sure that nothing was out there, Snape let out an audible gasp as he jumped back in surprise.

Students all along the four House tables squirmed and looked over each other's head to see what had caused such a reaction out of Snape. However, when the creature made itself seen, instead of gasps of terror, hysteric laughing was heard ringing from ever corner of the Great Hall.

Scuttling out from between Snape's ankles, was none other than a little black-and-white cat. Violet clutched her side as the little cat came bolting straight at Seth, and jumped into his lap.

"Well done, Cookie!" Ron exclaimed, leaning over the table and patting the small kitten on the head.

"Cookie! Where have you been lately?" Violet said. "We haven't seen you for days!"

"He well--ahem--was…er," Seth stuttered nervously. "Doing… stuff."

Violet grinned.

"Doing what, for example?"

"Well… er," Seth said.

"Has he been spying on a special _girl_, perhaps?" Violet chided teasingly.

"What? No!" Seth looked aghast at such an accusation, but the look in his eyes told Violet that she had hit the mark.

"Oh, no. Of course not," Violet laughed. "How could I ever think such a thing?"

Ron was roaring with laughter from across the table, and even Hermione let out a reluctant giggle.

Seth buried his face in this arms, his cheeks tinged red. At the back of the Hall, however, Snape was turning red, not from embarrassment, but from hardly suppressed rage.

Snape strode towards where Seth was sitting and glared down at him. Seth looked up at the Professor with a smirk on his face.

"Come with me," Snape hissed at Seth, who got up, Cookie jumping on his shoulder.

As Snape dragged Seth out of the Great Hall by his jacket sleeve, students on all sides of the aisle stood up and applauded. Just as Seth was being pulled out of sight, he made a hasty bow, causing Harry to collapse into Ginny, laughing hysterically.

xxx

"Sit," Snape spat at Seth, who flopped on the armchair across from Snape's desk, his leg hanging, flung over one of the chair's arms.

"You wanted to speak with me, Severus?" Seth asked, looking at the Professor expectantly.

"I don't need your snarky retorts, you insolent little--"

"I don't think my mother will appreciate you saying such things to her little boy," Seth said shrewdly.

"Well, I also don't believe that Lily would side with a mere _child_ that just humiliated a _Professor_ in front of the entire school, and then proceeds to interrupt me," Snape said, but Seth merely blinked owlishly at him, and continued to pet Cookie, who was laying in his lap.

"Hmm…Well I didn't think that a mere _kitten_ would embarrass said Professor," Seth said innocently.

Snape looked warily at the kitten in Seth's lap, who yawned suddenly, making Snape flinch, and Seth grin.

"Oh, but of course," Seth said with an air of just remembering some crucial information. "Unless Severus is _afraid_ of cats…."

"You _know_ how I feel about that creature of yours," Snape hissed dangerously, trying to inject some fear into the boy in front of him, but to no avail.

"I'm sorry," Seth said. "I seem to have forgotten…."

"Oh you are just like your father, always arrogant," Snape said.

"My father is twice the man _you _will ever be," Seth said, his eyes narrowed. He had stopped petting Cookie.

"Your father is a _swine _who has no feelings for anyone but himself!" Snape snarled.

"Oh is he now, _Severus_?" Seth said, glaring daggers at Snape. "Because last time _I_ checked, he must have _some_ feelings, otherwise my mother wouldn't have married him."

Seth said this very evenly, yet he had finally struck a chord.

"First you dare to call me by my first name, then you resort to _this_?"

Seth nodded, looking at Snape with a victorious smirk on his face. Seth turned to leave.

"Oh, and don't bother telling anyone of this little chat," Seth said. "Because if you do, you can bet that my mother wouldn't appreciate you saying those things about her _husband, _the man that she _loves_."

And with that, Seth left the office, leaving a gaping Snape in his wake.

xxx

The next day, the castle was buzzing with excitement. Today was the day that students 15 or over could enter their names into the Goblet of Fire. But there was also something else that had the students giggling and gossiping about.

That morning, The whole castle woke up to hear Snape screaming his head off. Some students had stuffed his office full of cats and kneazles.

"I wonder who it was?" Hermione had said that morning, looking at Seth pointedly.

"Oh, don't look at me," Seth said. "I wouldn't want to be in that office more than I had too."

"Then… Fred? George?"

"Don't get your wand in a knot, Hermione," Ron said. "Fred and George wouldn't sneak up to the school from their place in Hogsmeade just to shove some cats into that slimy git's office."

"Then…?" Hermione furrowed her brows. "Who could it have been?"

But just then, Irisa walked by the group smelling strongly off kitty litter and kneazle fur. Seth smiled.

"So," Violet asked as they walked towards the Goblet of Fire. "Who all's going to enter?"

"I am," Ron said. "What about you?"

"Yeah, I guess," Violet said. "Seth?"

"No, thanks."

"Harry said that he might enter," Ron said looking around for his sister and Harry.

"Oh, there they are!" Hermione said, pointing towards the Goblet. Harry was entering a small slip of parchment into the blue-and-white flames, while Ginny watched from next to him.

"Hey Ginny!"

Ginny turned around and waved at all of her friends and brother, telling them to come over.

Violet and Ron both ran up to the Goblet and threw their respective slips of parchment into the flames. Hermione and Seth lagged a bit behind, chatting, as Seth pinned a bright orange S.P.E.W. badge onto his chest.

Now all there was left to do was wait impatiently for the announcing of the champions later that night.

**A/N: Once again, I figured this was the best place to end the chapter. Help me reach at least 60 reviews by the next update (That's only 8 reviews)! Since I have 40 alerts and so many visitors, it shouldn't be a problem, right? **

**I accept reviews from people who don't have accounts, so its super easy! So please review, story alert, author alert, and favourite this story tons!**

**Just remember that I love and reply to every review that is physically possible, and if you review without an account, I will thank you in the next chapter of this story. Thanks SO much everyone, and remember that you all are the reason that I love to write as much as I do! -Ally**

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	11. Champion Selection

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter… But I do, however, own the OC's in this story, such as Seth, Violet, and Irisa! (And I DID NOT copy Seth's character from Melissa Marr's book series, it was completely by coincidence that they have similar aspects, in case you were wondering)**

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I have nearly reached 60 reviews! This is officially the longest FF.N story I have ever written! Enjoy Chapter 11 of Catching Her Eye!**

**(Thanks to Ray and Harry and Ginny 4Eva, who reviewed without an account, I love reviews! Hehe)**

**Chapter 11: Champion Selection**

Ron Weasley was sitting with his back to the cold stone wall in the Hogwarts Entrance Hall. He had a quizzical look on his face, as if he was trying to understand something. Finally, he turned towards the smarted person he knew.

"Hermione?"

"Yes, Ron?" Hermione replied, setting down her book and turning her head to face Ron.

"Well, Dumbledore said that 'The Goblet always knows'," Ron started, looking at Hermione.

"Well?" Hermione prompted.

"But isn't anything that can think for itself considered, you know, dark magic?" Ron finished, looking at his companion expectantly.

Hermione smiled. "Yes, Ron, I believe you are correct."

Ron looked appalled. "How can laugh about such a thing?"

"Well, Ron," Hermione said, still smiling slightly. "Dumbledore really didn't mean that."

"How so?" Ron asked.

"Well, for one, he just said that to scare the younger students so they wouldn't try and enter their names into the Tournament," Hermione took a breath. "And besides, Dumbledore drew an age line around the Goblet."

Hermione pointed towards the Goblet, and Ron's eyes gazed in that direction to see that she--big surprise--was correct.

"Oh," Ron said meekly, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"I'd like to see anyone try and get past _that_," Hermione said, burying her nose into her thick book once more.

Ron smirked at Hermione's comment and started one of his favourite pastimes besides food and Quidditch; people watching.

Ron chuckled at himself as he saw Neville sitting in his seat across the Hall, openly staring at… Violet? Yes, that had to be who he was gazing at. Unless the object of his fascination was Harry--who was right next to Violet--but Ron was pretty sure that Neville didn't swing that way.

Ron got a sudden surge of hatred towards Neville. How dare he _ogle_ at her like that! It might have been the fact that Violet had red hair, but Ron felt the need to protect her, just like he would Ginny.

As the staring continued, Ron jumped up and began to march over towards Neville to give him a piece of his mind, but he was stopped by a passing blur of blonde hair.

"Oof--" Ron grunted as he picked himself up from the ground. He looked down to see who he had bumped into as he held out his hand for assistance.

"Oh, thanks Ron," the girl spoke, taking his offered hand and being pulled up from the ground by her knight-in-shining-red-hair.

"No problem, Lavender. Are you okay?" Ron asked nicely.

"Oh, yeah I'm fine," Lavender's complexion flushed a bit as she spoke.

"Sorry, I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going," Ron said. "I was a bit preoccupied with something."

"Why, what's been on your mind?" Lavender asked.

"Oh, it's nothing really, I just sort of really want to have a word with _Neville Longbottom_," Ron ground out the name through clenched teeth, and his facial expression was furious enough to make Lavender want to take a step back.

But she stayed where she was. She was just too infatuated.

"Well, what did he do to make you so angry with him?" she asked cautiously.

"He was staring at Violet."

"But I thought you were with Hermione Granger," Lavender asked, confused.

"I am," Ron said, turning towards her and abandoning his effort of glaring at Neville. "I just… Violet's like my sister, you know? It just bugs me that a guy is trying to go after her."

"Umm, Ron?" Lavender asked.

"Huh?"

"It doesn't seem like it bugs her too much," Lavender said, pointing to Violet, who was now sitting next to Neville and chatting with him about the Tournament, judging by her motions towards the Goblet of Fire.

"Oh," Ron said, looking a bit put down.

"Just let them be," Lavender said, patting him nicely on the arm. "Neville seems like a nice guy, and you let Ginny be with Harry, so I think you will get over it soon enough."

"Thanks, Lavender," Ron said, giving her a smile. "I guess I just needed to hear something like that."

"No worries," Lavender said before flashing him a smile and walking away.

But just as she was about to round the corner, Lavender glanced back to see Ron resuming his spot next to Hermione. If only he knew how much it hurt her to see him with Granger…

xxx

The book she held in her hands was old and worn from numerous dog-eared pages and the occasional tear. She loved to read…. Almost as much as Seth's friend Hermione. Maybe that was why he was friends with Hermione, because she was like Irisa in some ways.

She was loyal…pleasant most of the time, but can hold a _mean_ grudge if she wanted to. She stood up for her beliefs, and most of all, she would always be there if one of her friends was in need….

Irisa flipped her now bleach-blonde hair out of her face--she dyed her hair the Muggle way, just like Violet, pretty frequently--and leafed through the book in front of her. This was one of her favourite stories…a story which included a boy _very_ similar to someone very dear to her.

Irisa considered staying snuggled up in her dormitory, reading her book, but decided against it. She thought that it was best to go head on down to the Great Hall for the champion selection.

So Irisa jumped up from her perch on her four-poster, and exiting the room, the door swinging shut behind her.

xxx

The Great Hall looked as it normally did, save for the Goblet that was now sitting right in front of Dumbledore's place at the staff table. There were several candles floating along above the House tables, along with some torches lining the stone walls.

The students were all buzzing excitedly, gossiping and chattering about who would be chosen as champion. Well, at least that's what _most_ were chattering about. Most of the female population of Hogwarts was staring at Harry, who was sitting at the Gryffindor table, his feet stretched out into the aisle….

"Oh doesn't he just look _ravishing_?" Romilda Vane cooed to Lavender.

Harry's robes were off, leaving him wearing his school jumper and tie. His sleeves were rolled up, his tie loosed around his neck, and he was wearing slacks with black Converse shoes.

"Mhm," Lavender replied dreamily, staring at Ron with a glazed-over expression of longing etched onto her face.

Harry ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it, and many of the girls either sighed or giggled. Just then, Harry turned towards the doors and smiled, waving.

"Hey Ginny! Over here!" he called.

Ginny smiled and made her way over towards Harry, with Seth, Hermione and Ron trailing along in her wake.

"Why is it that _he_ doesn't have to wear the school uniform?" a Ravenclaw girl asked her friend, gesturing towards Seth.

"I reckon it's because the teachers are a bit scared of him, to be honest," her friend replied. "He is a bit intimidating, what with the whole Snape fiasco."

"Yes, well I suppose so…but I don't think that it was even him who put the cats and kneazles into Snape's office."

"Why…?" her friend replied.

"Well, I don't know, but he just seems so innocent…like he'll say anything, but he won't necessarily do anything about it, you know?"

"No, not really."

"Oh just shut up, you."

xxx

"Hey Harry," Ginny said, sitting next to her boyfriend at the Gryffindor table. Harry leaned over and gave her a quick, chaste kiss.

"Hello Gin," Harry said, then turning to greet Seth, Hermione, and Ron, who had just reached them.

Before they could start any conversation, however, the candles dimmed, plunging them all into semi-darkness. Ron's face looked anxious, and the soft buzzing in the Great Hall increased in volume.

"This is it," Harry whispered as Dumbledore explained that the champions would enter the door on the other end of the Great Hall and meet in the Trophy Room once their names were called.

"I estimate that the Goblet of Fire will be ready in just a moment," Dumbledore said. By now the colossal hall was eerily quiet, as everyone waited with bated breath for the champion selection to begin.

"Ah-Ha!" Dumbledore exclaimed as the Goblet's blue-white flames turned a vibrant red. Sparks flew in every direction and a tongue of flame shot into the air, releasing a burnt scrap of parchment. Dumbledore the piece and read aloud the name that was scribbled there.

"Our first champion is Violet Potter; Gryffindor!"

Ginny gasped and turned towards Harry, who looked like he had just been punched in the face.

"Violet…?" he whispered, snapping his head around to face his younger sister, who was getting to her feet, while all of the Gryffindors applauded.

Violet had to pry both of her brothers off of her--who had lunged just for her and hugged her until she turned almost blue-- so she could continue down the aisle. Dumbledore shook Violet's hand and gave her the charred piece of parchment with her name on it.

Violet turned and waved, a huge smile on her face before she closed the door to the trophy room behind her.

"Now," Dumbledore said, facing the screaming Gryffindor table. "Settle down, settle down. The Goblet is about to make another choice."

The students shut up immediately.

Dumbledore hurried back over to the Goblet just as it turned red once more. The flame shot up, bringing a piece of parchment along with it. Dumbledore caught the scrap and read the name aloud.

"The second champion is Harry Potter from Gryffindor!"

Ginny screamed and gave Harry a huge hug, which he returned excitedly. The Gryffindors freaked; they now had two champions from their own House… and they were brother and sister! All of the girls were on their feet and applauding loudly, while the boys just clapped politely. Seth and Ron patted Harry on the back while whooping with joy.

Just as Harry closed the Trophy room door behind him, the Goblet's flames turned bright scarlet once more. Everyone in the room looked anxious as a single flame shot up, sending a scrap of parchment flying into the air. The paper fluttered down and landing in the palm of Dumbledore's hand…

And so he read the name aloud.

**A/N: So who do you think the third champion will be? Tell me in a review and if you get it right, I will dedicate the next chapter to you! Review please! It will make me update sooner!!!**


	12. Gryffindor Victorious

Disclaimer: At the end of the day, it's still not mine.

A/N: Thanks to all of my reviewers who reviewed without an account:

(keeperoliver--**Thanks! I love being different! haha--, ****Harry and Ginny 4Eva****--**Thanks for your guess!**--, and ****Journies_In_The_Heart****--**Thanks for telling me your thoughts! I expect that they will become a little more in-character as the story progresses, so don't worry! : ) **)!**

**And sadly, no one guessed who the third champion is! Bummer, but oh well! I am exceptionally proud of this one--it might even be my favourite--, so please enjoy Chapter 12 of Catching Her Eye!**

**Chapter 12: Gryffindor Victorious**

_The paper fluttered down and landing in the palm of Dumbledore's hand…_

_And so he read the name aloud._

"Irisa Mystine of Gryffindor!"

Seth's eyes widened and he looked as though he wanted to faint. He swallowed the lump that had just formed in his throat in attempt to feel better about this whole thing. The students around him were either screaming in excitement or scratching their heads, wonder who this "Irisa" was.

But right now, Seth didn't care about everyone around him. There was only one person he wanted to talk to…. So his eyes sought Irisa. After moments of frantic searching, he at last found her while she was entering the trophy room.

Seth turned to Ginny, who was looking at him. He knew that she could tell what he was feeling inside….

Seth's head jerked in the direction of the trophy room. Ginny understood instantly. They both looked around to check if anyone was watching, before they both ducked under the Invisibility Cloak that they had found in Harry's bag by their feet.

xxx

Irisa slowly walked into the Trophy room to find Harry and Violet standing down by the blazing fire. As they heard the door behind them close, they turned around, eager to see who the next champion was. Irisa smiled faintly.

Harry's mouth dropped open, and his eyes got wide.

"Irisa?" he asked in disbelief. "I don't believe it."

"Is this a joke?" Violet asked a bit coldly.

"No," Irisa said, a bit hurt. "No, it's really me."

Harry looked confused.

"What is it?" Irisa asked, her faint smile sliding off of her lips. She had expected them to be happy for her.

"It's just--" Harry struggled to find the correct words. "Well, I just didn't think that you of all people would want to enter the Tournament…."

"Yes, I think Harry just about summed it up," Violet said, a bit harshly.

"Oh, well then," Irisa said, her eyes narrowing in the slightest. "I now see that I was wrong in thinking that everyone would be happily surprised."

"No!" Harry said, looking guilty. "No, it's not that, Reese. I swear it's not. I was just caught a bit off guard, that's all."

Irisa looked at him with scrutiny evident in her eyes.

"Right, Violet?" Harry asked pointedly, nudging his sister in the ribs gently.

"Wha--? Ahem. Oh, yeah sure," Violet said in a completely non-convincing way.

Irisa knew that something was up with Violet. Irisa knew that Violet had a problem with her, and she was determined to know why. But now was not the moment, she decided, as the door to the Trophy room opened and four people entered.

It was Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall, Mr. Crouch, and Ludo Bagman. Harry noted that as the door was swinging shut behind them, it stopped halfway, as though the was an invisible wedge stuck there. It swung back open a bit, before closing once more.

"Seth, Ginny…" Harry murmured quietly under his breath, shaking his head in amusement.

"Gather around now, champions," Dumbledore said, gesturing for Harry, Violet, and Irisa to for a semi-circle in front of the four adults. "Firstly, I would like to congratulate you all in your becoming champions."

Harry smiled, seeing a trophy case rattle by itself.

"I must warn you all that the Tasks you will be completing this year are going to be extremely dangerous, and it is vital that you stay focused during said challenges," Dumbledore said in a low, almost eerie, voice. "It is my job to make sure that the competition does not get too rough and that none of you try to sabotage the other champions. But seeing as two of you are siblings, I should hope that that is out of the question."

Dumbledore gave them a searching look, making them all nod their heads eagerly. There was a chorus of "Yes, sir"s all around, and Dumbledore's bright blue eyes sparkled in appreciation.

"Right," Crouch interjected, clapping his hands. "Now that that is settled, it is time to lay down some rules."

"Right you are, Barty!" Ludo said with a chuckle, stepping forward, and patting him on the shoulder, earning him a disgruntled look from Mr. Crouch.

"Yes, as I was saying," Mr. Crouch said, shrugging Ludo's hand off of his shoulder in the process. "You all know that winning the Triwizard Tournament will not only earn you a thousand Galleons in prize money, but it will also give you eternal glory."

"Now don't get too ahead of yourself, Barty, my man," Ludo said, slinging his arm around Mr. Crouch's shoulders. "They haven't been champions for more than five minutes, now! They still need to complete the Tasks before they even think about winning!"

Ludo winked at Harry, who suddenly felt very uncomfortable, and he could swear he heard a muffled snort come from behind him.

"Er--Right," Harry said uncertainly.

"Harry, m'boy!" Ludo said jovially. "Alright there? You seem a bit jumpy!"

"No, I'm alright," Harry said. He wanted nothing more in the world, right then, than to have Ludo Bagman stop staring at him.

"If you're sure…" Ludo said, working his way down the line of champions. "How about you, Violet, Irisa, my dears?"

"Now, see here, Ludo!" McGonagall said sternly, "Leave the pleasantries for later! There are more pressing matters at hand that need to be addressed!"

Ludo looked taken aback, but recovered quickly.

"Right you are, Minerva!" he barked, before looking back at Mr. Crouch. "Barty! What are you waiting for?"

Mr. Crouch shot him a disgusted look, but it looked as though Ludo didn't see it. The whole ordeal was enough to make even Seth laugh silently from under Harry's Cloak.

Mr. Crouch cleared his throat before continuing.

"Now, champions, the first Task will be to test your endurance and daring. Because of this, we cannot tell you what you will be doing," Mr. Crouch said. "The Task will take place of November the twenty-fourth, and you will be competing in front of a panel of judges, as well as the other students.

"There will be no Quidditch this year at Hogwarts, and you three are hereby exempted from taking your final exams in order to help you concentrate on the Tournament. You are forbidden to seek help from any of your teachers, and you will be armed with only a wand in the first task," Mr. Crouch continued. "Is that clear?"

The three champions nodded their heads in understanding.

"Then off to bed with you all!" McGonagall said, shooing them off. "Classes start in just a few days, so _get some rest_!"

"Aye, aye, Professor!" Violet said cheerfully, before exiting the room through the back door along with Harry and Irisa.

xxx

"Seth, Ginny," Harry said from the corridor behind the Great Hall, after Violet and Irisa had walked off.

Two people appeared out of thin air. One had jet-black hair, and the other, flaming red. They were both blushing slightly at being caught.

"So did anyone happen to grab my bag?" Harry asked, grinning.

Ginny smiled guiltily. "Ummm…."

The grin slipped off of Harry's face.

"So it's still back in the Great Hall?" Harry asked fearfully.

"Whoops!" Ginny said. "Come on, Harry! I'll come with you, while Seth goes and talks to her."

Ginny didn't need to specify who "her" was. Harry knew she meant Irisa.

Ginny grabbed Harry's hand as they started walking towards the entrance to the Great Hall.

"So how does it feel to be a _champion_?" Ginny asked, grinning up at Harry.

"It feels pretty good, once you get passed all of the nerves of being part of the Tournament," Harry said, looking down at her.

"Scared?" Ginny asked.

"Not really," Harry said. "Why?"

"Because _I_ am."

Harry stopped walking and wrapped his arms around her in a hug.

"I'll be fine," he whispered in her ear and kissed the top of her head.

By then, the young couple had reached the Great Hall doors. They broke apart and entered, only to find it completely empty, save for a rather large cluster of girls grouped by the Gryffindor Table.

"Wait," Harry whispered, throwing the Cloak over himself and Ginny.

They stealthily made their way over to the girls, who were now giggling and clutching one another. It seemed as though they were surrounding two people in particular, who were crouched on the ground. They were obviously ruffling through something, which was obviously Harry's messenger bag that he carried everywhere.

"Oh! Look at this!" Romilda shouted, holding up a Muggle composition book.

Ginny heard Harry curse under his breath from beside her as Romilda opened the notebook.

"Oh Merlin, he's just so sweet!" one of the Hufflepuff girls cooed.

Ginny made them move a bit closer so that she could see what they were talking about.

Romilda held up the notebook so they all could see the inside cover. There was a photograph stuck in the middle of the page, with tiny, little moving hearts all around it.

Ginny smiled when she saw what the picture was of. It showed Harry and Ginny hugging and laughing. Harry would then lift his hands and play with Ginny's hair. The photo was taken on their first official date when they snuck into Honeydukes. Harry had convinced the owners of the sweetshop to take the picture for them.

Ginny looked at Harry, who was blushing furiously. Ginny's face split into a huge grin, and she couldn't resist the urge to give him a huge hug. Harry smiled.

When they broke apart, Ginny looked back at the notebook, and on the next page in big letters was, "HJP+GMW" with a heart around it. Ginny just thought it was adorable, seeing as she had never known another boy to doodle in his notebooks.

Harry had had enough of this embarrassment, so he checked to make sure no one was watching, and threw the Cloak off of them.

"Ahem," Harry cleared his throat pointedly, causing many of the girls to fall over in surprise.

"Harry, darling!" Romilda said, waving at him and winking flirtatiously.

"May I have my bag back?" Harry asked politely, albeit a bit coldly.

"Of course, love!" Romilda exclaimed, handing him his bag, with all of its contents, and not noticing Ginny standing next to him. "Would you like to come to the first Hogsmeade weekend with me?"

"Thanks, but I want to spend as much time as humanly possible with my beautiful Ginny," Harry said, wrapping his arm around his girlfriend. Half to spite them, half because he wanted to, Harry gave Ginny a kiss on the lips for good measure.

xxx

As soon as they were out of the Great Hall and on their way up to Gryffindor Tower, Ginny burst into laughter.

"That was _brilliant_, Harry!" she gasped, leaning into him for support, her arms wrapped around his torso.

"What did you expect me to do?" he asked. "Confess my undying love for Romilda Vane in front of everyone? No thanks!"

Ginny grinned.

"Did you just say that you have an undying love for Romilda Vane?"

"It seems as though I did," Harry said. "But I thought I had told you that I was leaving you for Romilda?"

Ginny started to walk away, but Harry was having none of this. He ran up behind her, and picked her up bridal-style.

"Eck!" Ginny said, putting on a disgusted face. "Who invited you to come and pick me up?"

"I had an epiphany," Harry said.

Ginny raised an eyebrow.

"I suddenly realize that I could _never_ let you go!"

They both grinned, putting an end to their teasing. Harry set Ginny back down and they resumed their walking.

Do you think they'll be celebrating?" Harry asked, indicating the Gryffindors.

"Knowing _them_," Ginny scoffed, "absolutely."

"Brilliant," Harry said dryly. "Just another reason to be around those bloody girls."

"_I'm_ a girl," Ginny pointed out teasingly. "Don't you like to be around _me_?"

"You're the exception, of course."

The couple had now reached the Fat Lady's portrait. Just at the sight of Harry, she swung forward.

"No password today, dearies! Go on in!"

Harry smiled, grabbed Ginny's hand in his, and stepped into the Gryffindor Common Room.

A roar erupted at the sight of him and Ginny. Ron was the first to greet him.

"Harry!" Ron shouted over the yells and cheers. "Well done, mate!"

"Thanks, Ron," Harry said loudly. He could barely even hear himself speak, let alone think.

Harry pulled Ginny a bit closer to him, for the common room was as full as Harry had ever seen it. He didn't want them to get separated in the chaos.

Harry and Ginny looked around to see tons of food everywhere, and Harry was rather amused to see Seamus and Dean leading everyone in a rousing chorus of, "GRYFFINDOR VICTORIOUS! GRYFFINDOR VICTORIOUS!"

In all of the commotion, no one noticed Seth and Irisa, sitting in the corner next to Hermione, who was trying to recruit new S.P.E.W. members.

"Why?" Seth asked Irisa blatantly.

"Why did I enter the Tournament?" at Seth's nod, she continued. "I thought it would be obvious."

"Well it's not," Seth snapped.

"I wanted people to know who I am," Irisa said, crossing her arms. "Remember?"

"I'm sorry," Seth sighed, apologizing for his outburst.

"It's no problem."

"Just…Next time, tell me beforehand, okay Reesey?" Seth asked, his eyes pleading.

"I promise, Sethie."

**A/N: Wow. This story has over 50 Alerts and 70 reviews! Thanks sooo much, you guys! Please review, even if it is just a "good job" or "nice", even those small comments make me smile and brighten my day : ) I saw HBP at midnight on the 14th****, and it's my favourite HP movie so far! It was hilarious! Please review and tell me what part was your favourite!**

**(I have just figured out what the Three Tasks for the Triwizard will be--it took a bit of brainstorming--but I am extremely proud of the outcomes and I can't wait to write them and share it with you all! :D )**

**VOTE in my profile poll please : ) (and read my Fred/George cute fanfic that was inspired by true events! Its called: Of Forbidden Ponds) THANKS! : )**

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	13. The Scar

**Disclaimer: Now, everyone, if I said I owned HP, you all know that would be such a waste. I never would be able to think up something as amazing as Harry Potter. JKR is truly a genius. **

**A/N: Thanks a ton to all of my reviewers! And for Harry and Ginny 4Eva, thanks for the review! I really appreciate them! Now on with the story… Please enjoy Chapter 13 of Catching Her Eye!**

**Chapter 13: The Scar**

Harry Potter woke up early on the day that classes started. He was extremely excited to start his classes, but at the same time, he was a bit nervous and even depressed. He had never been to public school before, since they were home schooled in America when they moved there for James's Auror work. And he wasn't going to have Ginny to be there for him in his classes, considering she wasn't even in his year.

Harry rubbed his hands over his eyes and face, before putting on his glasses and glancing at the clock. It read: 5:40 A.M. Harry groaned. Of course it had to be _that_ early.

Harry threw back his blanket and slipped out of his warm and comfy four-poster bed. His feet hit the cold floor and he shivered a bit. He couldn't understand how the castle could get this cold in late summer/early fall.

He soon decided that it was best to go take a nice, warm shower to wake himself up a bit. Once Harry was fully showered and dried, he grabbed his school bag and headed down to the common room to wait for one of his friends to wake up and join him.

Harry tapped his foot impatiently on the floor as he stared into the unlit fireplace. He sat there for about five minutes, when he heard a soft tap on the window. Harry's head snapped around.

"Hedwig!" Harry said rushing over to the window.

His snowy white owl, Hedwig, was hovering just outside the glass, a letter tied to her leg. Harry opened the window, allowing the bird to fly in and land on the arm of the cushy sofa just a few feet away.

Hedwig stuck out her leg, and Harry eagerly untied the letter that was attached. He smiled as he recognized the handwriting.

_Harry,_

_It's really great to hear that you made it into the Triwizard Tournament! Prongs is ecstatic while Lily's been just a big puddle of worry. That's just how mums are, I suppose. I, for one, was extremely proud when your dad told me you were named a champion! Lily looked like she wanted to cheer and hit something at the same time… that's what she did, too. My arm is _still_ sore._

_Moving on to other subjects, it has been brought to my attention that Prong's old Cloak is no longer just _your_ secret. Seth owled me and told me that he's known about it ever since before school started. I'm not sure if you already knew of this, but I will still stress that it would be in your best interest to keep an eye on that one, he's been becoming quite sneaky._

_Yes, I was talking to Seth just recently and he has also informed me of one other thing. I understand that Little Prongs has a _girlfriend_! Ginny Weasley, am I right? And Vi has also told me that you have filled my old role as Hogwarts Heartthrob. I cannot pretend that I am not proud._

_Don't forget to get into lots of trouble, but do try to not get hurt in the Tournament!_

_-Sirius_

Harry laughed as he finished the letter. Hearing from Sirius had lightened his mood and calmed him down immensely. He heard footsteps from behind him and turned around to see Hermione and Seth walking towards him, chatting about the rights of magical creatures.

"Hey guys," Harry said cheerfully, petting Hedwig's feathers and giving her a spare owl treat that he unearthed from the bottom of his bag.

"My oh my," Seth said cheekily. "You sure do have everything in that man-purse you have there."

"Shut it, Seth," Harry said embarrassedly, while Hermione watched on in amusement.

"You are both so lucky," she said a bit wistfully.

"And how are we lucky?" Seth asked.

"You have each other," Hermione said.

Seth burst out laughing.

"_Me_? Lucky to have _him_?" he clutched his side, while Harry glared at him.

"What do you mean, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Well, being an only child, I've never really had anyone to be close to and joke with."

"What about Ron?" Harry asked. "I thought that you two were friends since first year…?"

"Oh, well yes," Hermione said hastily. "But he was more--Well, we're dating now and I never really thought of him as a brother."

"Right," Harry said, while Seth took deep breaths to control his exaggerated laughter. "Well, er-- Have you seen Ginny at all this morning?"

"Yes, actually," Hermione said. "I just ran into her up in the bathroom. She said that she's just about ready to get to breakfast."

"Brilliant," Harry said, smiling. "I'll just wait here for her--You two can just head on down to the Great Hall. I'll be fine up here by myself."

Hermione looked at him and blinked, smirking.

"Well, I'll be fine once Ginny gets here," he corrected. "She can save me from any girls that way come along."

"That's better," Hermione laughed. "Come on, Seth! Lets go eat--I, for one, am starving."

Seth nodded and as they started to make their way out of the common room, Hermione glanced back at Harry in afterthought, saying, "If Ron comes down, tell him to meet me in the Great Hall, and if he asks why, say that I was dying from food deprivation."

Harry laughed at Hermione's words. She really was starting to grow on him. They were becoming quite the best of friends.

Harry waved silently and then headed back to his perch on the arm of the cosy Gryffindor sofa.

xxx

"Why did you _do_ that Seth?" Hermione asked the black-haired boy beside her as they made their way down the corridor.

"Do what?" Ah, he was playing dumb. Just as expected.

"Why did you act like that when I said that you were lucky to have Harry?" Hermione expanded.

"Oh, that," Seth said, shuffling his feet.

"Yes, that."

"Well, it's not like I don't _care_ about him or anything…" Seth said.

"Seth, I know you. You love Harry and you know it!" Hermione said. "You wouldn't know _what_ to do without him!"

"Well yeah!" Seth said, like it was quite obvious. "I just don't want him to know that! I would never hear the end of it from him… or Violet for that matter."

"Seth," Hermione said seriously, putting her hand on Seth's arm to make him stop and look at her. "You shouldn't be ashamed of loving your own _family_!"

"I _know_, Hermione!" Seth said, a bit exasperatedly. "I'm just not exactly the most affectionate person in the world. And when I _am_, it's extremely rare--please, don't tell me how wrong that is, because I'm afraid that's just the way I am and I doubt I will change anytime soon."

Hermione just stared at him until Seth started walking once more, at which point, she had to jog a bit to catch up.

"I'm sorry I brought it up…" Hermione said, a bit embarrassedly.

"Not a problem Herms," Seth said, giving her a reassuring smile.

Hermione returned the favour.

xxx

Ron turned over in bed and gave a large snore, before freezing suddenly and opening his eyes, panicked. He scrambled out of bed and looked at the old watch on his wrist. He let out a breath of relief when seeing that it was merely 6:37.

He hadn't overslept after all.

As Ron took out his hand-me-down school robes, he wondered why Hermione hadn't been around to wake him up extra-early. She usually had him up and awake by 6 sharp on the first day of classes…

He shrugged, pulling on the black robes, noting that the arm had a small rip from several years of being worn. He must remember to owl his mum about that later… She would know how to fix it.

As he swung his school bag over his shoulder, he caught a glimpse of the books within. They were in complete shambles. He wondered if Hermione could fix them, or if they were damaged beyond even _Reparo_. He shrugged slightly to himself, thinking that he could probably scrounge up some money to buy some new ones from Fred and George by testing some of their products over Christmas holiday.

Ron pulled a comb through his shaggy ginger hair, trying to put it to rights. He _was_ a crazy sleeper, after all, and his hair was just simply unruly at this point. After spending about 5 more minutes of this, he gave his locks one last fleeting comb, before giving up and heading down the boy's dormitory steps.

As Ron entered the common room, he saw Harry sitting there in his brand-new Hogwarts robes. Ron felt a slight twinge of what must be described as jealousy in the very pit of his stomach at the sight of his newly-found best mate.

Harry looked up as he noticed Ron standing there.

"Hey mate!" Harry said cheerfully, not taking note of Ron's too-short robes. Ron was exceedingly grateful.

"Hey Harry," Ron said, plopping next to him on the sofa. "Fancy some breakfast?"

"Maybe in a bit," Harry said. "But I promised Ginny that I would wait for her."

Ron nodded, but then stopped and looked at Harry suddenly, with a curious expression on his face.

"What?" Harry asked. "Do I have something on my face?"

"Yeah…" Ron said in wonder. "When did _that_ get there?"

"_What?_" Harry asked, completely confused.

"That scar!" Ron said, pointing to Harry's forehead.

Harry's hands flew up to his forehead and his fingers felt something there… something he had never felt before. Without warning, Harry bolted up the stairs, and rushing into the boy's lavatory for a better look.

Panting, Harry gazed into the mirror. He leaned forward and gasped when he saw a slender, yet jagged scar on the middle of his forehead. It was shaped like a bolt of lightening.

Ron thundered up the steps after Harry and stood next to him, now looking at the scar. He was breathing harshly, and Ron feared that he might faint.

"Mate," Ron said fearfully. "You should get to the Hospital Wing."

"I'm fine, Ron!" Harry protested.

"Harry! This is serious!" Ron pressed. "Get to Madam Pomfrey, she'll know what to do!"

"Fine!" Harry said, tired of protesting. "I'm going!"

Ron nodded. "You go, and I'll fetch Ginny. She bound to wonder why you aren't waiting for her."

"Thanks," Harry said, suddenly grateful that Ron was with him.

"No problem. Now _go_!" Ron said, urging Harry onward.

Harry grabbed his bag from the common room, before exiting out of the portrait hole. Ron sighed in relief. He was still extremely scared from his friend, but he was glad that Harry had finally left for the Infirmary. Ron pulled a hand through his red hair. Just a few minutes ago, the biggest worry he had was whether or not him mum could fix his school robes, now _this?_

xxx

Harry hurried down the corridor, having to dodge through crowds of girls asking him what he was in such a hurry for. Of course, Harry knew where he was going, for he had studied the Marauder's Map several times and now knew almost the whole of Hogwarts by heart.

Harry entered the Infirmary cautiously, only to be attacked by Madam Pomfrey.

"Oh my dear!" she said. "You look terrible! Come have a lie-down, won't you?"

Harry just nodded mutely, before being pushed down into the nearest bed.

"Madam Pomfrey--" Harry started, trying to tell her what was wrong. But she was having none of this.

"What is your name, dearie?" she asked comfortingly, yet sternly enough to make Harry answer without question.

"Harry Potter."

"Okay, and you are in Gryffindor, I presume?" she asked, writing this all down on her Muggle clipboard.

"Yes, but there's something that I need to ask yo--" Harry started, only to be cut off again.

"Now what exactly is wrong?" Madam Pomfrey asked, obviously not hearing Harry's attempts to explain.

"Well, this morning--"

The door to the Hospital Wing flew open and a figure with flaming red hair came and dropped to her knees beside Harry's bed.

"What happened?" Ginny asked. "Are you alright? It was that Vane girl, wasn't it? Oh she better hope that I never see her again, because if I do, then I'm going to--"

"Ginny!" Harry said, putting his hands on her shoulders in a comforting way. "It's okay. Calm down, it wasn't Romilda."

"Oh," Ginny said faintly. "Then what's wrong?"

"He was just about to tell me when you came rampaging in here," Madam Pomfrey said sternly.

"Harry," Ginny whispered. "Where did that scar come from?"

"That's why I came here," Harry said, turning back to Madam Pomfrey. "I woke up this morning and everything was normal. And then my brother Seth and Hermione came down and talked to me for a bit, and everything was alright. Then Ron Weasley--Ginny's brother--noticed that I suddenly had this scar on my forehead."

"I see," Madam Pomfrey whispered, a bit fearfully.

"He told me to come here, and that he would send Ginny down after me," Harry finished, taking Ginny's hand.

"Well, Mr. Potter," Madam Pomfrey said. "I am afraid this is not my area of expertise."

"Then what is he supposed to do?" Ginny asked, becoming frustrated with the school healer.

"Mr. Potter, you need to get up to Professor Dumbledore," she said. "Miss Weasley, you may escort him. I am afraid that Albus is the best one to help you."

Ginny and Harry's heads snapped to the side, looking at each other. Harry saw the fear in Ginny's eyes that mirrored his own. What was this all about? Why did they need to go to Dumbledore?

"Well, come on then, Harry," Ginny said, standing up, still clutching Harry's hand. Although her face now held on of composure and strength, Harry was sure that she was still scared out of her mind. As Ginny led him out of the Infirmary, Harry glanced back at Madam Pomfrey, who looked back at him with terror evident in her eyes…

_What was happening to him?_

**A/N: And the plot thickens once more….**

**I decided to spice up the story a bit, because one person can only write so much fluff at one time. Haha! So I've decided to darken the story a bit, but still have those fluffy moments that we all crave. I hope you guys liked it, and please tell me what you think of the new plot twist!**

**Review!**


	14. The Prophecy

**Disclaimer: I don't own it; plain and simple.**

**A/N: Wow. I really cannot believe that this story has reached over 80 reviews! Thanks you all so much for sticking with this story, even though I felt it was getting a bit boring. But now I have re-gained my inspiration that I had a while ago, and I really have hope of this being a really amazing story. It really is hard to believe that I am already on chapter 14! Enjoy!**

**(I had to do some serious research for this chapter! *phew!*)**

**Chapter 14: The Prophecy**

Harry allowed Ginny to pull him through the halls and many passageways of Hogwarts, leading him to Dumbledore's office. Harry vaguely wondered whether or not the professor would be in his office, considering the rest of the school was eating breakfast down in the Great Hall at that time.

Apparently, when Harry tried to ask Ginny this, she thought that she didn't have to answer him, and just tightened her grip on his hand. In just a few more minutes, the couple had reached the gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's office.

Harry groaned, realizing something. "We didn't get the password, Ginny!"

"We need to see Professor Dumbledore," Ginny stated to the gargoyle, who just merely chuckled and stayed put. "_Now!_" she added forcefully.

Harry didn't blame the gargoyle for jumping aside instantly. Ginny was downright _scary_ when she used that tone.

Ginny motioned for Harry to join her in heading up the moving, spiral staircase. Harry muttered a fleeting "Thanks…" to the now disgruntled looking stone gargoyle.

Once they reached the top of the staircase, Ginny knocked quite impatiently on the large door in front of them.

A few moments passed in which nothing happened. The time seemed to tick by painfully slow, Harry and Ginny's hearts both beating frantically, and their chests heaving up and down from running. Just as Ginny was sure she as about to explode from anxiety, the door creaked open.

Ginny glanced inside, and, as she expected, Professor Dumbledore sat there, just merely looking at them.

"Professor!" Ginny cried, barging in and plopping Harry down on the chair placed in front of Dumbledore's desk. Harry took this chance to look at his surroundings.

They were sitting in a circular room. All around, there were sleeping portraits of previous Hogwarts Headmasters and Headmistresses. Lining the walls were various cupboards and tables. Dumbledore's desk was in the middle of the room. Silver trinkets that moved, clinked, and whirred were placed all around the office in several places. There was a golden bird perch placed next to Dumbledore's desk and was currently vacant.

Harry's attention snapped back to reality as he watched the scene before him.

"Now, Miss Weasley," Dumbledore said calmly. "I know you are worried. Poppy has informed me of Mr. Potter's situation, and I am afraid that I need you to be silent so I can explain."

Ginny tried interrupting several times during Dumbledore's short speech, but quickly fell silent at his words.

"Thank you," Dumbledore said gratefully, gazing at both of them. "Well, firstly, Harry, I must ask you a very important question. Do I have your word that you will answer it truthfully?"

Harry gulped and nodded his head once.

"Have you ever seen this scar before?"

The question seemed absurd, but before Harry could shake his head 'no', something sparked in his mind, as he suddenly remembered something. He nodded.

Ginny looked as shocked as Harry felt. He looked across the desk at Dumbledore, who was giving him a searching look.

"Well, it wasn't exactly _real_," Harry clarified. "I had this dream once…In the dream, I had this," he brushed his finger over the scar on his pale, white forehead.

"What happened in this dream?" Dumbledore asked seriously. Ginny gaped at the both of them, her hand still linked with Harry's.

"I--I was at the Ministry of Magic, where my dad works. I don't remember it making much sense," Harry said. "Anyway, I was standing in the atrium, by the big fountain--just looking into the water. And that's when I heard a voice."

Ginny's gaze locked onto Harry as he spoke the next words.

"It was whispering to me. It said something about me being chosen."

Dumbledore looked at Harry. "I have reason to believe that scar on your forehead was put there with extremely Dark Magic."

Ginny gulped just as Harry said something.

"My family didn't leave England _just_ because of my dad's work, did we?"

Dumbledore blinked once, before answering with a single word, which changed Harry's life forever.

"No."

xxx

**Ten Years Previous**

It was a busy day at the Ministry that day, as witches and wizards hurried through the atrium to get to the lifts on time. Everything seemed ordinary, and it basically was. Minister Bagnold, as usual, was in her office, praising one of her favourite employees on their work as the new Head Unspeakable of the Department of Mysteries.

"…really great job, Tom, really great," Bagnold said, smiling at her employee like a mother would smile at her child. "I'm relieved that you were able to grasp onto the routine so early and easily."

"Yes, well, I learned from the best, Minister Bagnold," Tom said, modestly.

"Oh, nonsense," Bagnold waved him off, with a slight blush. "Call me Millicent, will you Tom?"

"Yes, Minist--Millicent," Tom said with a smile, correcting himself.

"So keep up the good work, and I will be making regular checks on your work," Bagnold said in dismissal.

"Thank you," Tom said with a nod, and exited the room, his hands in the pockets of his dark robes.

Tom made his way through the many halls and corridors of the Ministry of Magic, making his way to the lift that would take him down to monitor the Department of Mysteries. He was going to check up on things, just making sure that nothing had gotten loose or if he could finally get that _one door _to open.

Tom punched in the number for his floor and waited patiently for the gates to close. As the lift made its way down to the Department of Mysteries, Tom pondered what he would have fore lunch that day, after he got done with his Unspeakable duties.

He stepped out of the lift and sauntered down the corridor, until he reached a big, wooden door. He reached out and turned the doorknob, and found himself in a circular room, with doors on every side of him. Before the door could close behind him, he waved his wand and muttered, "_Flagrate!_",marking it with a dazzling, red _X_.

The walls rotated and spun around him, until he stood facing the doors to the left of the marked one. He counted a few doors to the right, and stepped over to push open the one that led to the place he knew to be the Time room. Tom blinked a few times to get his eyes used to the brilliant light of the bell jar, but eventually made his way past all of the clocks and to the door at the back of the room.

This door hadn't been opened in ages… The last few Head Unspeakables before him had never been able to open it, either. But somehow, Tom knew that it would open this time.

He placed his hand on the door and pushed tentatively, and to his joy--and utter amazement--, it opened.

It was so dark in this room, that he could barely see past a few feet in front of him. So, naturally, he took out his wand, muttering, "_Lumos_." The tip of his wand illuminated, and Tom found himself in a colossal hall, with a ceiling higher than that of a church. It had several shelves on either side of him, and It was a mystery as to how this room could be so big. It went on so far that he couldn't even see the walls; just never-ending shelves.

Tom blinked. Small, round orbs--a bit bigger than Golden Snitches in size--housed said shelves. As he passed his wand over orbs in the row directly to his right, they emanated a soft blue light, that started a ripple effect. Soon, every orb was glowing and Tom found that he no longer needed the light of his wand to see.

He gazed around him, staring un-believingly at his surroundings.

He was standing in the fabled Hall of Prophecies.

He had remembered hearing about this room vaguely once before… but since the door hadn't been opened in such a long time, well, it must have just seeped through the cracks of history, never to be heard of again. Until now.

Tom started walking briskly down the rows of Prophecies, glancing every which way he could. He read thousands of names, each pertaining to some sort of moment in Wizarding history. By the time he reached the row labelled _ninety-eight_, he was gasping for breath, due to excitement _and_ the running.

The pounding of his heart was audible, be thought to himself, as he slowed down to take a break. But a certain nameplate snagged Tom's gaze. As he drew nearer, the names on the shining plaque stood out vibrantly against the darkish atmosphere.

_S.P.T to A.P.W.B.D._

_(?) :_

_Dark Lord_

Tom looked at it, nonplussed for a moment, before reaching out and picking up the small, glass orb. He stared into the depths of the Prophecy, watching as little clouds of smoky haze drifted around inside. Just as he was bringing it closer to him, it unexpectedly slipped from his grasp.

It seemed to happen in slow-motion. A gasp escaped Tom's lips as the Prophecy hit the floor. A loud, shattering sound rang from every corner, making a shiver run down his spine. Suddenly, a vapor-like, white, and misty substance rose from the broken glass that was scattered at Tom's feet. It wafted upwards, and took the form of a figure with enormous eyes.

The pearly-white figure opened it's mouth and spoke in a misty, extravagant voice.

"_THE ONE WITH THE POWER AND KNOWLEDGE TO VANQUISH ALL APPROACHES…UNBEKNOWNST TO HIMSELF, AND TO ALL OTHERS…RISING IN POWER, AND SUCCESS IN ALL HE DOES….HE WILL SOON REALIZE HIS TRUE POWERS….THE DARK LORD SHALL RISE, AND IN HIS PRIME, HE WILL DO GREAT THINGS LIKE NONE OTHER…._"

Tom's eyes widened as the figure faded away to nothing but a small wisp of vapor. He glanced back up at the nameplate, and saw--to his astonishment--a name, now suddenly being scrawled into the plaque…

_S.P.T to A.P.W.B.D._

_(?) Tom Marvolo Riddle:_

_Dark Lord_

Tom Riddle blinked owlishly, an eerie smile creeping over his features, and a plan silently forming in his head.

**A/N: Okay, sorry for the bit of lateness. School sucks. I've had to get up at 5:45 each morning and have no other time after school to really write, with all of the homework and other things. The next chapter will be longer, but I thought this was the best place to end it. **

**The part with Tom was actually pretty challenging to write, so please don't be too harsh. If there is any confusion now, it will be cleared up in later chapters, so be patient! I have already planned out the direction of this story and how it will end, and I think you all will be very pleased with it. But so far, I don't think I'm even halfway through the story yet… **

**So please review, alert, and favourite! Tell me if you like the direction this story is heading! Love, Ally :)**


	15. A Plan Fulfilled

**Disclaimer: I don't, nor will I ever, own Harry Potter.**

**A/N: I'm so glad you guys all like the direction this story is heading! I had no idea when I started CHE, that it would turn out this way! I'm really appreciative to those of you who review, favourite, and alert! Love to you all!**

**(****Harry and Ginny 4Eva****, thanks so much for your consistent reviews, and sadly, yes. I DO have to wake up that early to catch the bus. Urgh. And to ****J.C.****, yes. School stinks… No--it sucks moldy chocolate frogs. Yes--that sounds more like it.)**

**So here's chapter 15 (whoa. Is it FIFTEEN **_**already**_**?) of Catching Her Eye! :D**

**Chapter 15- A Plan Fulfilled**

"So," Ginny murmured to Harry under her breath as they sat together at the Gryffindor table later that day. "Let me get this straight. You think Dumbledore isn't telling you something? Something--important?"

"Yeah," Harry muttered, flattening his hair over his scar. Dumbledore had released them to go off to lunch, and excused them from their classes until the next morning. "I just _know_ he's keeping something from me. I can tell."

"I still don't understand why all of this is happening, though," Ginny said, breaking her gaze away from Harry to look down at her plate.

"Neither do I," Harry said. "I wish I knew what was happening to me. But I can guarantee one thing."

Ginny looked up. "And what's that?"

"My mum is probably worrying her guts out," at Ginny's inquiring look, he continued. "When Dumbledore held me back for a few moments after you, he told me that he had Madam Pomfrey owl my parents."

"I'm sure hat will turn out brilliantly," she said dryly.

"My thoughts exactly," Harry said. "I was hoping to figure this all out myself, before really telling anyone about _this_," he gestured towards his forehead.

Ginny gave a slight guffaw that Harry thought was unnecessary in the current conversation.

"You can be really _thick_ at times, can't you?"

"Wha--?" Harry spluttered out.

Ginny smiled.

"If you thought that you could keep something like that secret for more than a few hours at _most_, then you're completely mental."

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked, still not catching on.

"The _girls_, Harry," Ginny said with the air of talking to a very small and incompetent child.

"Ahhh," he said in sudden realization. "I now understand."

"Yes," Ginny nodded. "And by the look on Romilda Vane's face, she knows that something is up…but no worries. I've got a plan."

Harry looked over in the direction of her gaze and saw Romilda Vane, several seats down, staring at him with scrutiny plain on her face. She started a bit when she saw him looking at her, causing her to fall backwards off of her chair.

Ginny snorted in amusement, and Harry couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up inside him. He turned to look at Ginny, and immediately wished he hadn't. For as soon as their eyes connected, they both burst into enormous peals of laughter.

A moment later, Romilda resurfaced from behind the table, her face red as a tomato, and resumed her earlier position of staring at Harry.

Harry and Ginny's moment of fun was called to halt as Ron appeared, along with Hermione, Seth, and Violet.

"Hey mate," Ron said, sitting down opposite Harry. "How've you been holding up? I heard from Madam Pomfrey that Dumbledore released you."

"I'm okay… I guess," Harry said, blinking. He wished that they would all just leave. Right now, Ginny was the only one that had the ability to lighten his mood, which had now suddenly plummeted.

Seth and Violet exchanged glances as they took seats next to Ron. They weren't completely sure what was going on, but they knew Harry…and he was _not_ okay. Hermione caught Seth's eye, and by the look on her face, she was thinking the same thing.

"Oh, well that's good," Ron said in relief, clearly not catching onto Harry's pitiful excuse of a façade.

Ginny rolled her eyes discreetly, and Hermione just sighed. Oh, how _daft_ Ron could be at times….

"So," Violet said in forced cheerfulness. "It must be nice to not have to worry about schoolwork tonight."

"Yeah," Harry grumbled. Ginny took his hand in hers in a soothing way. He smiled feebly.

"Harry Potter."

Harry looked up at the sound of his name, and saw a very peculiar looking girl staring back at him. But it wasn't the annoying, fan-girl kind of stare. It was more of… well, he couldn't even really explain it.

"Er--hi?"

"Luna Lovegood," Ginny stated, quite fondly.

"Oh. Hello, Ginny," Luna said. Her voice was airy and dreamy, and it completely calmed Harry down at once. "I didn't see you there."

Luna had long, wavy, light blonde hair that went clear down her back. She had slightly bulging eyes, and was wearing earrings that reminded Harry of radishes. By the crest on her robes, she was a Ravenclaw, and she had extremely colourful sneakers on. At first look, she looked quite… strange. Yet Harry felt a sudden fondness for her.

"So…" Ron said awkwardly, for a silence had fallen around them after Luna had spoken.

"You're Harry Potter," Luna said, as though she was informing Harry of something that he didn't know.

"Er--yeah. I know," Harry said, feeling a little uncomfortable.

"And you're a Triwizard Champion," Luna said to him in a lofty whisper. "I came to warn you of the wrackspurts. You're going to be especially prone to them. Funny little creatures, they are. But particularly troublesome."

Harry nodded. Seth held back a snort of laughter.

"What's a wrac--?" Ron's blunt question was interrupted by a swift kick in the shin, under the table, from Ginny. "_Ow_!"

"Be wary," Luna said seriously. "They are invisible creatures that fly into your ears and make everything go all fuzzy."

"Right," Harry said with a smile, nodding. "Thanks."

Luna nodded, before skipping away dreamily.

"That girl's got more idiosyncrasies than all of us combined," Seth said, as soon as Luna was out of earshot.

A silence followed these words, where no one said anything.

Hermione could take it no longer and let out a loud laugh. A grin spread across Harry's face as he joined her. Soon enough, the whole Great Hall had turned around to take a look at the crazy group of friends, laughing their head's off at the Gryffindor table.

Okay, maybe Ginny wasn't the _only_ one who could cheer him up….

xxx

"Okay, girls," Romilda said, looking purposefully out into the sea of faces before her. "Through close speculation, we have gathered enough evidence to conclude that something is _definitely_ wrong with Harry."

A loud buzzing grew around her, caused by all of the members of the _Official 'Support Harry Potter' Fan Club_. They had congregated in the fifth year girl's dormitory, that day, and--as one could tell--they were extremely chatty.

"Now, girls. Calm yourselves," Romilda said with an air of business-like importance. "I know how we all love Harry _very_ deeply, but we must remain calm. If we don't, then how are we supposed to find out what is going on with Harry?"

The buzzing of gossip halted almost immediately. The door to the dormitory had just opened.

"Hey, stalkers," Ginny said casually as she plopped down onto her bed with a smirk. She glanced towards Violet's bed that was across from hers, but found that she wasn't there. _She must be with Seth or something_, Ginny thought.

All of the heads turned to glare at Ginny, as if she was imposing on a very private conversation. Which--in a way--she was. But that didn't mean that she wasn't doing it on purpose.

"_Ginny_," Romilda said sweetly, making all of the heads snap back to her, instead of Ginny.

"Romilda," Ginny said with an amused expression on her face.

"How are you?" Romilda asked, hopping over to perch on the edge of Ginny's bed, acting like they were the best of friends.

"Brilliant," Ginny lied, but by the looks on everyone's faces, they were skeptical. "How about you?"

"Very fine, thanks," Romilda said. "So… How are things with you and Harry?"

Ginny smiled widely. She knew this would happen sooner or later. Romilda was trying to get information on Harry by using her. This was her chance.

"Oh, really wonderful," Ginny said with a large grin.

"Oh?"

"Yes," she said. "Except yesterday Har--" she stopped short, looking a bit panicked.

"What is it, Ginny?" Romilda asked frantically, taking Ginny's bait.

"Oh, well--" Ginny said. "Well, yesterday, Harry was a bit… distraught."

Romilda's eyes widened. "H--How so?"

"Well, see--He was sort of _afraid_," Ginny whispered the last word. "He was really nervous about starting classes. Madam Pomfrey mistook his jitters to be an illness, so she ordered him to take the day off."

"Oh, the poor thing," Romilda said. The other girls sighed at Harry's _sensitivity_.

"Yes, well, he's fine now," Ginny said with a smile. "I made sure of it."

Romilda's eyes narrowed a bit, but she soon recovered her façade of sweetness.

"Oh, well that's good," Romilda said a bit stiffly. "I'm glad that he's okay now. I just can't imagine how hard this all must be for Harry…becoming a Champion, being at a new school--everything."

"Yes, well I wouldn't worry about it much anymore," Ginny said, getting up and heading for the door. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date with my boyfriend."

And she was gone.

"Urgh! _I hate her_!" Romilda exclaimed as soon as the door swung shut.

xxx

"Hey Gin," Harry said softly as he enveloped Ginny in his arms. "How'd it go?"

"Beautifully," Ginny reported. "They bought everything I said!"

Harry grinned. "And you didn't make me out to be some big puddle of worry and emotion, did you?"

"No, I didn't," Ginny said. "But now they think you're very sweet and sensitive."

"Oh really?" Harry said.

"Yes," Ginny sniffed teasingly. "I can't understand why they would think that, though."

Harry raised his eyebrows.

"Well, it could be the fact that none of them have actually _met_ you," Ginny said. "I mean, if they _did_ know you, they would realize that you are the most insensitive wart they had ever met."

"Is that what you _really_ think of me?" Harry asked with a grin, pulling Ginny closer to him.

"Mmhm," Ginny said.

"Well, we'll see about that," Harry said before leaning in and kissing her.

**A/N: I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I'm not sure why…I suppose I just needed a little fluff. This story was craving it. So there's your dose of fluff! I wrote this instead of doing some of my homework, so I hope you liked it!**

**Please Review!**

**(. I just **_**couldn't**_** leave out Luna! And don't worry! I SWEAR the chapters will get longer as we head into the first day of classes for Harry, etc., and the actual tasks of the Triwizard Tournament--which are fast-approaching, I might add!)**


	16. The First Day

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I never have, and I never will.**

**A/N: Have I mentioned that this story has now reached 90 reviews? Well, it has! I love you all! I appreciate all of the reviews, alerts, and favourites!**

**Now, without further ado, let me present you with chapter SIXTEEN of Catching Her Eye!**

**Chapter 16- The First Day**

As the first bell of the day rang throughout Hogwarts' grounds, Harry's pulse quickened. He was already nervous enough, having been more prone to stares than what was usual. It seemed as though the whole school had heard that he didn't attend the first day of classes, and they were all determined to find out why.

"Harry," he heard someone whisper. He looked around to see Ginny motioning him off to the side of the corridor.

"Yeah?" Harry murmured to her once he reached his destination.

"I just wanted to wish you luck on your first day," Ginny said, looking up at him.

"Thanks," Harry with a slight sigh of anxiety.

"Just remember," Ginny said. "Breathe. It's all going to go just fine, and I expect to hear all about how your day went later, deal?"

The reassuring smile on her face quelled all of Harry's nerves and even he broke into a smile and nodded.

"Got it," Harry said. "Thanks, Gin."

"No problem. Now we better go before we're late for class," Ginny said, giving Harry a quick kiss.

"I'll see you later?" Harry asked as Ginny started to walk away. She turned around and walked backwards for a moment.

"Of course!" she said with a final wave, which Harry returned, before jogging away up the stairs to reach her first class.

Harry glanced down at his schedule.

_Defense Against the Dark Arts_

_Charms_

_Herbology_

_Transfiguration _

_Potions_

Based off of his O.W.L. scores (he had taken the test last year, through home-schooling), he figured that he had a pretty decent set-up. He decided that he wanted to become an Auror like his father, and he was glad that he qualified to take all of the required subjects.

Harry slowed down a bit when he reached the doors to the Defense classroom. This was sure to be a promising class.

"Harry!" Remus Lupin exclaimed when he saw one of his best friend's sons enter through the doorway.

"Hey Uncle Re--Professor Lupin," Harry corrected himself with a grin.

Lupin smiled before lowering his voice so that no one but Harry could hear.

"Have you heard from your mother at all? Or James?"

"Not since--" Harry broke off, glancing around. "Not since _that_ happened, anyway."

"Ah, yes. Well, enjoy your freedom while it lasts," Lupin said. "I hope you realize that Lily is going to do everything in her power to keep it so you don't get into trouble, and to make sure that you are safe."

"Yeah…" Harry mumbled. "I don't know how well _that's_ going to go over, considering--"

"--considering who your father, godfather, and uncle are," Lupin said with a wink.

"Yeah, basically," Harry said with a laugh.

"You'd better go find a seat, Harry. Class is about to start, and I don't think you'd like a detention on your first day, now would you?"

Harry replied with a hurried--and somewhat sarcastic--,"Yes sir." before taking a seat in the back of the class, somewhat isolated from everyone else.

As the last few people arrived to class, the bell rang, making everyone settle down into their seats.

"Hello, class," Lupin said kindly, smiling at his pupils. "I think I will start today with roll-call, then we can move on to reviewing what we started talking about yesterday. Let's see…"

And so Lupin started taking attendance for his class. Everyone in the room was relatively quiet, and most had not even noticed that Harry was sitting in the back, until--

"Harry Potter?" Lupin called out, obviously trying not to give Harry any special attention by acting as if they had never met before.

"Here!" at Harry's words, several heads snapped back so fast that he was sure one girl in the front row got whiplash. There was a loud scraping of chairs, and in seconds, every seat on all sides of Harry was occupied.

"Harry!"

"Hiya Harry!"

"Harry! I didn't know _you_ were in this class!"

"How are you feeling, Harry?"

"How has your day been, Harry?"

"Uhm--" Harry said, rather taken aback by the sudden ambush of girls around him. "I'm good."

"Oh that's good!"

"Great!"

"So has the Tournament preparation been going?"

"Uh," Harry said, suddenly realizing that the first Task was quickly approaching, and how he had been doing nothing to prepare.

"Now, Now!" Lupin called out from the front of the class. "Girls, get back to your original seats. Now is not the time to be pestering young Mr. Potter here about out-of-class activities."

The girls all sighed, each giving Harry one last wave before packing up their things and heading back to their seats. Harry sighed in relief and slumped a bit in his chair.

"That was bloody close, eh, mate?"

Harry started, having not noticed that Ron was sitting next to him.

"Merlin, Ron!" Harry said. "Do you _want_ to give me heart failure?"

"Sorry," Ron muttered with a look of badly hidden amusement on his face.

"When did you get here, anyway?" Harry asked.

"Oh, well, I didn't realize you where here until just now," Ron said. "So I figured I'd come to the rescue when all of the girls mauled you."

"What a great help you are," Harry said a bit sardonically.

"Yeah, well," Ron said. "They're bloody scary, aren't they?"

Harry inhaled and exhaled deeply.

"That they are."

"Do you reckon they know?" Ron asked under his breath in a tone that left Harry no other guesses as to what he was referring to.

"No," Harry said. "Ginny took care of it yesterday."

Ron raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

"Yes."

"How?" Ron asked.

"It doesn't matter, does it?" Harry said. Ron didn't need to know about Ginny's excuse for Harry. He would just mock him for it, and Harry didn't need _that_, too.

"Okay, okay," Ron said, raising his hands in defeat.

"Right," Harry said. "Now what's going on in class?"

"No idea."

"Brilliant."

Harry and Ron burst out laughing.

xxx

"So, how was your first day of classes at Hogwarts?"

"It was great," Harry replied. "And I only got mauled by girls in _five_ classes."

Ginny laughed. "And how many classes are you taking?"

Harry pretended to count on his fingers.

"Five, I believe."

"You _believe_?" Ginny asked.

"Yes."

"Oh, I see."

"Which reminds me," Harry said, suddenly a bit serious. "In Defense, one of the girls asked me what I was doing to prepare for the first Task."

Ginny's eyes widened. "Oh."

"You see my problem."

"But you've had an excuse!" Ginny said. "So don't feel bad about not doing anything!"

"Yes, well, I think that I may be taking a trip to the library with Hermione tonight," Harry said. "And you're coming with me!"

Ginny laughed. "Oh really?"

"Yes, really. I don't feel like spending an entire night poring over books without a distraction," Harry said with a grin. "Not to mention someone to protect me."

"Those fans been bugging you, Potter?" Ginny asked cheekily.

"Ugh." Harry said. "You have no idea."

"I guess you are just extremely lucky to have me, then."

"Of course," Harry said.

Ginny glanced around them before reaching up and brushing back his fringe, revealing his scar.

"It's getting more defined," she whispered, tracing it with her forefinger.

"Excellent," Harry said. "I don't think I'll be able to hide it for much longer."

"Then should we even try to hide it?" Ginny asked.

"It depends," he replied.

"On what?"

"On what our excuse for it will be," Harry said.

"I think that we should just let them figure this one out on their own," Ginny said. "No excuses, no lies."

"Really?" Harry asked.

"I don't know about you, but I'm kind of curious as to what their little minds will cook up," Ginny said.

"So, you're saying not to worry about hiding my scar, and if they see it, then that's it?"

"Yes," Ginny replied.

"Then I'm in," Harry said, a devilish smile spreading across his face.

Ginny laughed, but they were soon interrupted by a soft tapping on the window.

"Hedwig!" Ginny said, walking over to the window of the Gryffindor Common Room and opening it, letting the owl in.

"Who's the letter from?" Harry asked, coming over and examining the letter attached to his owl's leg.

"I'm not sure…" Ginny said, handing the envelope to Harry, who recognized the handwriting at once.

"It's from my mum," he said.

"How did your mum get Hedwig, then?" Ginny asked in confusion.

"Seth uses her to send out letters, as well. He doesn't have an owl--only that cat," Harry said. "Seth must have sent a letter to home, and instead of replying to Seth with Hedwig, they probably used the house owl. That way, they would be able to send _me_ a letter back with Hedwig."

Ginny nodded.

"They do that all the time, then?"

"Yeah," Harry replied, a bit distracted, opening the letter.

It read:

_Dear Harry,_

_Why in the name of _Merlin_ didn't you tell us sooner?! How do you think we felt, getting a letter from Madam Pomfrey telling us that our eldest son showed up at her door with a random scar on his forehead? And THEN we get a letter from Dumbledore as well, telling us not to worry, and that it was all just a bit of Dark magic!_

_Dark magic, Harry! And he expected us not to worry! We am tempted to come up to Hogwarts straight away, just to make sure that our children aren't dying! For all the information we get out of you three, we'll never know! Please, Harry. Just try and TELL us next time, instead of letting us find out such things from Albus Dumbledore or the school nurse!_

_Keep checking in with Remus in the mean time, and __**keep out of trouble!**_

_With all our love and concern,_

_Mum and Dad_

A little note was added at the end in tiny letters, as though it was written hastily, while someone's back was turned.

_P.S. I'm sorry about that. You know your mum. I'm not saying that I'm not extremely concerned or angry right now--because I am--but that doesn't mean that your rule-breaking needs to slacken any. You have a legacy to carry on, so don't forget it! (ha-ha) -Dad_

Harry laughed as he read the last bit of the letter. Typical James.

**A/N: Sorry it's been so long since the last update. I really feel bad about it. My life has been very busy lately, and I really do apologize, seeing as my writing opportunities are becoming increasingly restricted.**

**Now, another chapter is done, and it is yet another chapter closer to the Triwizard Tournament! (Even though this chapter was just a bit of a filler) I plan to have more information about Riddle as the story progresses, so hang in there!**

**Please review! I'd like to hear your thoughts!**


	17. Rita Skeeter

**Disclaimer: Don't own it.**

**A/N: I can't really say anything other than I've been extremely wiped out lately and that school sucks. However, I have to comment on one matter at hand--lack of reviews. Siriusly guys, is it really that hard? I guess that's why it took me so long to update. I was just sort of discouraged. Anyway, here's the next one.**

**Chapter 17: Rita Skeeter**

**Ten Years Earlier**

Tom Riddle sat at his usually neat and orderly desk, which was uncharacteristically cluttered with various bits of parchment. He sighed deeply and wiped the perspiration off of his glistening brow. It certainly had been a long day. He had already had enough work in the Department of Mysteries to begin with, and now his…_side project_…was occupying most of his free time.

Sometimes he wondered if it was all worth it or not, but these times were so exceedingly rare that he could barely even remember them.

Tom shoved aside a stack of paper with ink splattered all over it. An sudden idea popped into his head and he hastily snatched up a fresh piece of parchment and began to scribble away. He had been at this for hours. It was tedious work, this was.

No one could know what he was doing or planning, or else everything would be ruined. _Everything_. He couldn't risk it. He had to keep this to himself--Well, at least for now.

After another half-hour of this, Tom yawned and stood up, stretching his shoulders and arms back over his head. It certainly had been a long night. Maybe he could just turn in a bit earlier tonight…?

Tom smiled at the thought of sleep and exited the small room in Riddle Manor that was his office. The only thought in his mind as he closed the door behind him was _Sleep_.

It had only been five minutes after Tom had fallen asleep that the old caretaker, Frank Bryce looked up from his little cottage to see a flickering light. It was coming from Mr. Riddle's office window. Frank shook his head.

Mr. Riddle had forgotten to blow out the candle again! Frank's first thought was to just let it burn out by itself, but then that was running the risk of it knocking over in the night, for Mr. Riddle had left the window open as well, and it was quite windy that night. Of course, Frank was sometimes rather dense and never considered this, for if the candle was to be blown over by the breeze, the cool air would surely have just extinguished the flame.

So it was then that Frank threw on his overcoat, and grabbed the keys hanging by the door that would allow him access into the manor. Frank trudged up to the large house, all the while praising himself for saving Mr. Riddle's life before he perished in a house fire.

It took only a few minutes for the old caretaker to reach the office door, which stood ajar. The floor beneath him moaned with every step he took, and the rather rickety door creaked as he pushed it open more.

As soon as Frank entered, he saw the little candle burning on Mr. Riddle's desk, and was about to blow it out, when something caught his eye. It was a scrap of parchment, and there was writing scribbled all over it. He picked it up curiously, looking it over.

In the very corner, with a circle around it were some very strange words. Well, _some_ of the words were strange. It said:

_Tom Marvolo Riddle_

What was strange about this was the little crosses going through the letters of Mr. Riddle's name, like one would cross something out on a crossword puzzle. Underneath these words, something very curious indeed was written, and it left Frank utterly befuddled.

_I am Lord Voldemort_

There was suddenly a creak behind him, and Frank started, gasping, before turning around.

Ah, it was only Mr. Riddle! And He thought it might have been someone dangerous!

Mr. Riddle entered the room, and closed the door behind him with a soft _snap_, an eerie gleam in his eye.

"You shouldn't have come up here, tonight, Frank Bryce."

xxx

"Hermione," Harry said with a sigh. "We've been at this for _hours_! Can't we just have a break?"

"No," Hermione said shortly, snapping another book shut, causing a cloud of dust to spiral into the air. "This needs to be done!"

"Relax, Hermione," Ginny said. "Harry and Violet don't even know what the first task is yet! How are they supposed to prepare for it?"

"Exactly." Harry nodded in agreement.

"We've practically been memorizing these books," Violet said from across the table. They were currently in the library. "I think we'll be okay."

"I don't know…" Hermione said doubtfully. She bit her lip in thought as Harry groaned.

"Hermione!" Ginny snapped. "I am going to leave know, okay? And Harry and Violet are going to come with me."

"Ginny, the task is in less than--"

"--Two days?" Ginny scoffed. "Don't you think they should be resting, instead of holed up in this stuffy library, poring over books?"

"Well, I suppose…" Hermione said, caving.

"Hermione," Harry said, standing up and stretching. "Thanks. For everything."

"You're welcome," she grumbled.

"Now," Violet proclaimed as she, too rose from her seat, suddenly looking very energized. "Dinner! I'm starving."

"Hear, hear!" Ginny replied with great gusto. "Now where is that charming, brother of mine?"

"Knowing Ron, he's probably devoured half of the Gryffindor table by know," Violet laughed, grabbing her bag and setting off with Harry and Ginny, while Hermione insisted on staying behind to put the books away.

"True," Harry replied, slinging his arms over the two girls' shoulders. "But then again, he's a Weasley--ow!"

"I take offence to that, you know," Ginny said, while Harry recovered from the punch she had given him.

"Yeah, yeah."

xxx

Hermione hummed softly to herself as she scooped up the remaining books on the table, and headed over to the shelves to put them away. She really was worried about her friends, and she had just wanted them to be as prepared as possible.

Just as she went to place a book titled _Defense Made Easy: Spells for Every Occasion_ back on the shelf, she knocked into a rack of books, sending several volumes cascading to the floor.

Hermione bent down to pick up the books, but stopped short when she saw one of the books. It was emerald-green in colour, and it had gold edging. Hermione reached out and picked up the book, examining it from all angles before stuffing it in her bag.

xxx

It was already halfway through dinner when Harry, Ginny, and Violet entered the Great Hall. They found Ron, Seth, Irisa, and Neville all sitting together in a small cluster. Harry had just sat down when Luna Lovegood sauntered over to them.

"Hello," she said dreamily, her wide eyes looking straight at Harry, who smiled.

"Hello Luna," he said.

"What brings you over to the Gryffindor table?" Ginny asked cheerfully.

"I was sent by Mr. Bagman. He wants you to come with me, Harry Potter," Luna said, "and the other champions as well."

"Oh--okay," Harry said, glancing around at Violet and Irisa.

"Follow me," Luna replied airily, heading off in the direction of the doors.

"Er, bye," Harry said awkwardly to everyone, while standing up.

Violet and Irisa both said their goodbyes before following Harry towards the door, making sure they were standing at least five feet away from each other.

"I wonder what that's about," Ron murmured to Neville, who shook his head like a dog, tearing his eyes away from Violet's retreating back.

"Yeah," he said, trying and failing to act like he knew what he was talking about.

Ginny snorted, rolling her eyes in amusement at Neville's subtlety.

Seth lowered his head to the table. The light in his eyes had just darkened a bit. Why couldn't they get along? It was his best friend and twin sister--why they hated each other, he never knew.

"Anyway, I reckon they just want to take photographs for the _Prophet _or something," Ron said with a hint of longing in is voice. "Right Seth?"

"Oh," Seth said, his head snapping up. "Yeah. Most likely."

xxx

Harry followed close behind Luna, wondering what he was about to walk into. Knowing how Mr. Bagman was--Well, let's just say that he was slightly uneasy.

They had climbed the staircase in the Entrance Hall, and after a few moments, they came up to a classroom door. Luna knocked softly on the door before saying goodbye and departing.

Harry faintly heard an anxious, "Come in, come in!" before he opened the door and entered.

Harry was greeted by a loud guffaw from Bagman, and was quickly ushered into the fairly small classroom. Harry looked around and saw a long table, which. was covered in velvet. There were three chairs pushed up behind it, as well as three in front, and two in the corner of the room.

Harry couldn't possibly think of any reason that he would be here, and when he turned to look at Violet, she had already answered his unasked question.

"I think this is the Wand Weighing ceremony!" she whispered to him.

"The what?" Irisa piped up from the other side of Harry.

Violet acted like she didn't hear her.

"The Wand Weighing ceremony takes place before every Triwizard Tournament--it's when the judges call in a professional wand-maker to check the champions' wands," Violet continued.

"What did you do, eat Hermione or something?" Harry asked, making her roll her eyes sarcastically.

"Who's that?" Irisa suddenly asked. Harry turned and saw that she was pointing toward the door.

A witch had just entered. She was wearing magenta robes, and had light blonde hair that fell about her face in messy, ringlet curls. She had a toothy grin, exposing several gold teeth, and she was holding a green crocodile skin bag in her red-nail-polished, man-like hand. Perched on the end of her nose, were a pair of glasses, with jewels adorning the rims.

"I don't know who that is," Harry said in reply to Irisa's inquisition. "But there's just something about her that just seems--"

"Harry, m'boy!" Bagman said, suddenly realizing the woman who had entered the room. "I'd like you to meet Rita Skeeter! She writes articles for the _Daily Prophet_!"

The witch in the magenta robes looked up from the inside of her crocodile-skin bag at the sound of her name.

"Ah!" she said in realization when she saw him. "You must be this _Harry Potter _that I have heard so much about!"

"Err--"

"Oh, don't worry dear, I have my fair share of readers here at Hogwarts, and according to the mail that I have been getting recently, I know plenty of girls will be happy to finally read an interview with you in the paper!" Rita Skeeter said, grinning.

"I'm not sure what you mean," Harry said, confused.

"Oh, dear," Rita said with an adoring smile. "I get mail almost every day from the girls here at Hogwarts, telling me that I should look into finding out about this _Harry Potter_, _'The New Heartthrob!'_, they tell me!"

"Oh?" Harry asked, blushing slightly. This could take a while to get used to.

"Of course!" Rita said, turning back to Bagman. "Oh, Ludo, do you think I could possibly get a quick little interview with Harry, here?"

"Oh, I don't see why not!" Bagman laughed. "Off you go! Just don't get him into too much trouble, now, Rita!"

"Of course not, Ludo," Rita said. She turned back to Harry. "Come along now, dearie."

Harry barely had enough time to say anything at all, for Rita Skeeter had grabbed him round the collar, and was pulling him into the nearest broom cupboard.

As soon as Harry ducked into the closet, Rita snapped the door shut behind them with a soft _click_.

**A/N: Next one should be coming soon. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!!??? **


	18. The Weighing of the Wands

**Disclaimer: don't own it.**

**A/N: Thanks for all of your reviews! I love all of the feedback! They all make me smile, and thanks to my reviewers without an account: **_**Harry and Ginny 4eva,**_ _**Amber**_ **and **_**amy**__**!**_** Now, here's chapter eighteen!**

**Chapter 18: The Weighing of the Wands**

"You don't mind if I use a Quick-Quotes Quill, do you?" Rita asked, her hand hovering over her bag.

"Er--not really," Harry said, sitting down on an old cardboard box.

"Great!" Rita said, her smile widening, while she perched on an overturned bucket.

She unclasped her bag and reached in, bringing out an acid green quill, and a notepad. She balanced the notepad on her knee, and placed the tip of her quill in her mouth for a moment. She then let go of the quill, letting it stand up on the notepad by itself.

"Now, where shall we begin?"

"Er--"

"Oh! I know!" Rita said. "So, Harry. Tell me: how old are you?"

"Um--sixteen…" he replied awkwardly.

"Ah, so what made you want to enter this tournament?" Rita said, leaning forward a bit, making Harry feel a bit uncomfortable.

"I'm not really sure," Harry replied a bit uneasily. "I just sort of… decided to enter…"

Harry trailed off as the quill was now speeding across the notepad in a frenzy of letters and words. He leaned forward a bit to read the words that were being written.

_Unsure of why he has entered such a dangerous tournament, Harry Potter, age 16, is worried about his internal struggle with acceptance, as he has just began to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

Rita saw him reading, and hastily sat back, covering the tiny scrawl with her handbag.

"How did you know I'm new here?" Harry asked bluntly.

"Now, now, Harry! You have forgotten how many fans you already have at Hogwarts! Plus, I have my sources," she added with a not-so-sly wink.

"Er--right," Harry said.

The quill once again shuddered and sped off across the parchment. This time, it wrote:

_Seemingly comfortable with his fans at Hogwarts, Potter is pleased with how many girls adore him. Some may say this is a pathological need for attention…_

"What?" Harry asked forcefully.

Rita decided to ignore his outburst.

"How do your parents feel about you entering this tournament? Are they concerned?" she pried.

"Yeah, I suppose. My mum's pretty worried…" Harry trailed off again.

_Struggling with an un-accepting family life, Potter's father could care less about his son, leaving Potter distressed to the point of tears._

"I am NOT distressed!" Harry shouted. "And my father does NOT care less!"

_Potter seems unlikely to be able to go into detail about his tragic childhood._

"Harry, dear, I think we must be out of time," Rita said, suddenly getting up.

"Good!" Harry said loudly, standing up and stomping out of the broom closet.

Harry walked over to where the other champions were sitting, and plopped down between them, seething. Violet looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What happened?" she asked.

"That woman is insane," he replied shortly.

Violet gave him another inquiring look, but Harry waved her off, as Bagman stood up.

"I'll tell you later," he whispered, turning his attention towards the man in front of him.

"Now," Bagman said, clapping his hands together. "The wand weighing ceremony will now commence!"

"Sit down, Ludo," Crouch said curtly, gesturing to someone standing by the door.

A man with white hair sauntered towards the champions and smile kindly.

"This is Mr. Ollivander," Crouch said. "He is the wandmaker that will be examining your wands today."

"Hello, Mr. Potter, Miss Potter," Ollivander said.

Violet smiled.

"I sold wands to both of you," he said.

"You remember us?" Violet asked skeptically.

"Oh, yes," the old man replied. "I remember every wand I have ever sold, and their buyers."

Violet looked impressed.

"Shall we start, now?" Dumbledore said from the head of the table.

"Ah, yes. Of course, Albus," Crouch said, gesturing for Ollivander to begin.

"Miss Potter?" Ollivander said, holding out is hand for her wand.

Violet handed it over to him, and he instantly started to inspect it.

"Ah, yes," Ollivander said. "Oak, twelve and a quarter inches. Made by my colleagues in America, am I right? Unicorn hair core?"

Violet nodded.

Ollivander waved her wand in an arc, producing a rainbow of sparks before them.

"In perfect working condition," he said, handing it back to Violet.

Harry handed him his wand, this time.

"Holly, eleven inches, phoenix feather core," Ollivander said. "Nice, very nice."

Ollivander was about to wave it, when he suddenly stopped.

"Curious," he said.

"What's curious?" Harry asked, leaning forward.

"I remember this particular wand. The phoenix feather whose feather is in your wand gave another feather, which is very unusual," Ollivander explained. "I gave the brother wand to a young man long ago named Tom Riddle. You must be connected to him in some way…"

"No," Harry said. "I don't know a Tom Riddle."

"Ah, well," Ollivander said. "You will, someday."

Harry furrowed his brow skeptically, but decided to let it go, as Ollivander waved the wand, producing a bouquet of glittering flowers.

"Perfect condition."

Irisa handed her wand of ever to him, and Ollivander bent it a bit in his hands, checking the flexibility.

"Birch, thirteen and a half inches," he waved the wand, levitating the nearest object, which happened to be Rita Skeeter's chair.

She screamed, and Ollivander chucked.

"In working order."

Harry grinned.

"Let's all take photographs!" Bagman said, jumping up. A photographer entered the room, then, with a huge camera in hand.

"Oh, great," Harry mumbled to himself, preparing for torture.

xxx

"How did it go?" Ginny asked an hour later, and Harry collapsed next to her on the common room couch.

"It could have gone better…" Harry groaned, his face buried in a pillow.

"Poor Harry," Ginny teased, pulling him into a sitting position. "What happened?"

"Have you ever heard of Rita Skeeter?" he asked.

"The reporter?"

Harry nodded.

"Yes, I heard she's a right piece of work," Ginny said.

"She interviewed me," Harry said. "It was a nightmare."

"What did she do?"

"She used a Quick-Quotes Quill, and it was making stuff up as it went along!" Harry said, outraged.

"It couldn't have been too bad, right?" Ginny said, trying to make light of the situation.

"Just wait and see, tomorrow morning the article is going to run. Just wait," he repeated.

"Well, in the meantime," Ginny said. "Are you hungry? You didn't get to eat today."

"Starved," he replied. "Trip to the kitchens?"

"My thoughts exactly."

xxx

The last day approaching the First Task of the tournament seemed to be filled with anxiety and nerves. With the task just less than a day away, the champions were on their toes.

"Harry, calm down!" Seth said, after half an hour of watching Harry pace back and forth. "Where's Ginny, anyway?"

"Library."

"Why is she in the library?" Seth asked.

"Last minute research."

"What?" Seth asked, making Harry stop pacing. "Why is _she_ in the library researching things for _you_?"

"Good point," Harry said. "I don't know why I left, in the first place."

Harry turned and hurried out of the portrait hole, muttering things to himself all the way.

Seth turned to Ron.

"Must be the nerves," he laughed.

Ron chucked.

"Or he finally cracked from being with Ginny all the time!" he said.

"Yeah, I'll go with the first idea," Seth said rolling his eyes.

xxx

"Ginny!" Harry called, causing him to be shushed by Madam Pince, the librarian. "Ginny--There you are!"

He sat down next to her at the table in the back of the library.

"I just remembered that _I_ am the one that needs to be researching! Not you!"

Ginny laughed.

"Don't worry about it, Harry," she said. "I know you're just nervous."

"Right, sorry," Harry said apologetically.

"It's okay," she said softly, smiling at him. "I was almost done, at any rate. But you need to rest. Let's go."

"But--"

"No arguing," Ginny said. "Come on."

Together they stood up and walked off towards Gryffindor Tower, to rest up for the eventful day ahead of them, starting the next morning.

**A/N: I despise the ending. Even though I hate the ending, I am still extremely proud of this chapter! But anyway, the First Task is the next chapter, so it should be finished up and posted soon, since I am anxious to share it with you. Remember to review! Thanks!**

**p.s. For those who are wondering, the Rita Skeeter article will be in the next chapter! **


	19. The First Task

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

**A/N: I have reached over 100 reviews for this story! I am so happy! Thanks for reviewing! For those who don't have an account (**_Harry and Ginny 4Eva_**) thanks! Now here is chapter nineteen! (LONGEST CHAPTER!)**

**(To those who may be confused: This story will continue and will not end until after the Third Task. I will let you all know when the story will be drawing to a close, which will not be for a while, so don't worry!)**

**Chapter 19: The First Task**

Harry couldn't stop the anxious feelings that were coursing through his veins. The next morning, possibly the most terrifying thing he would ever have to do would take place. In all honestly, he was scared out of his wits. These thoughts called him back to an event which had taken place earlier that morning.

_**Earlier that Morning**_

"**Calm down. Everything is going to be fine! Well, almost--" Ginny told him. She had a strange look on her face, and Harry looked at her questioningly. "What?"**

"**What are you hiding?" Harry asked as Ginny's face flushed a bit.**

"**Nothing," she persisted. "I am not hiding anything!"**

**She couldn't have been more obvious.**

"**Ginny," Harry said in a warning tone, narrowing his eyes.**

"**Oh fine," she sighed. "What I meant was that, well--"**

**Ginny brought a newspaper out of her robes, and handed it over to him, guiltily. Harry unfolded it cautiously as Ginny shuffled her feet, staring determinedly at a speck of dirt on the ground. **

**Harry's anger flared as he read the title of the front page article of the gossip section.**

_HARRY POTTER: The Unaccepted Champion_

_By now, I--Rita Skeeter, can most likely assume that you have heard about the events that are taking place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year--the Triwizard Tournament! _

_Yours truly was invited into the school for an exclusive look at the Wand Weighing Ceremony. Here, I was able to snag an interview with the school's biggest new heartthrob: Harry Potter._

_Harry Potter is one of the three champions, and I got the rare opportunity to hear his thoughts about this Tournament before any other! _

_To read this one-of-a-kind interview, please turn to page 13._

_Harry looked above the article, and to his horror, saw a very large photograph of himself. A small caption was underneath, and read : Harry James Potter, 16, Triwizard Champion._

**He looked up at Ginny, who finally looked up at him with an apologetic look. He turned to page 13**_._

_Unsure of why he has entered such a dangerous tournament, Harry Potter, age 16, is worried about his internal struggle with acceptance, as he has just began to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

_Sources say that Potter is rarely seen with anyone other than his usual close-knit group of friends, afraid to mingle with others. Although he has a rather tough exterior, Romilda Vane of Hogwarts School, age 14, says that Potter is "a very sensitive person, who isn't afraid to show his feelings." _

_Ms. Vane is the head of the Harry Potter fan club at Hogwarts, and tells us that Harry makes regular visits to their meetings._

_Seemingly comfortable with his fans at Hogwarts, Potter is pleased with how many girls adore him. Some may say this is a pathological need for attention…_

"_Harry is a very nice person," says Vane. "He rarely ever loses his temper, and although he has a wicked girlfriend, he seems to be happy with his life, in general."_

_With this information , I can assume that Harry Potter's insides are churning with turmoil. Although he may be calm on the outside, when asked about his family life, Potter broke down in tears._

_Struggling with an un-accepting family, Potter's father could care less about his son, leaving Potter distressed to the point of tears._

_After a few moments of regaining his composure, Potter revealed that his father never accepted anything he chose to do in life._

"_I even thought he was going to beat me a few years ago," Harry says. "I am just glad that my mother was there to calm him down."_

_Even though one would assume that Potter would have moved on, Vane says that Potter's girlfriend is constantly reminding him of his painful past._

"_She's vile," Vane says. "She never lets him forget any of it. It's like she doesn't want him to be happy."_

_However, Potter refuses to comment on this, meaning that he is too frightened to reveal his feelings about his girlfriend, in the hopes that she will not punish him too harshly._

_On this note, I will leave you all in the hopes that you will support Harry Potter in the first task of the Tournament tomorrow. God knows he'll need support._

_Sincerely Yours,_

_Rita Skeeter_

_The Daily Prophet_

**Harry was seething.**

"**How can she even do this?" Harry ground out through his teeth as he crumpled the newspaper into a ball furiously.**

"**I honestly don't know," Ginny said, shaking her head. "You didn't say any of those things, did you?"**

"**No I bloody well did not!" Harry said angrily.**

"**I figured as much," Ginny said. "That Skeeter is one wicked woman, indeed."**

"**I second that statement," Harry said, taking her hand. "Come on, we have to face them sooner or later. Why not now?"**

**Ginny nodded and held her chin high as they marched proudly into the Great Hall.**

Harry remembered that moment and clenched his fists in order to stop from screaming out, when Violet walked down the girls' staircase and into the nearly deserted common room.

"Harry?" Violet asked. "What are you doing down here?"

"I could ask you the very same question," Harry said.

"I couldn't sleep," she replied with a sigh, plopping down next to him on the sofa in front of the fire, and laying her head on his shoulder.

"Same here."

"Harry?" Violet asked, closing her eyes. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," Harry replied, giving her his attention.

"Are you scared?" she whispered.

Harry turned his head to look at her, causing her to open her eyes and lift up her head.

"More than you can imagine."

xxx

Harry woke up on the couch the next morning, having not remembered falling asleep at all. The last thing he remembered was sitting on the couch with Violet.

Harry jolted as someone flipped over the sofa and onto the cushion next to him.

"Wha--?" Harry started, but stopped, his eyes widening. "No. Not you again."

"Hello Harry," Romilda said, completely ignoring his previous comment. "What brings you down here to the common room?"

"Er--" Harry was caught off guard as she furiously started to flutter her eyelashes at him. "I saw that Skeeter article."

"Oh," Romilda said, taken aback at the sudden change in conversation and at the cold tone in his voice. "Did you?"

"Why?" Harry said. "Why did you say those things?"

"I--I--"

"You not only made me seem like a fool," Harry said. "But you also made Ginny--my _girlfriend_--seem like some…" he gestured wildly for a moment, trying to find the right word, and also to emphasize his point.

"Oh Harry," Romilda cooed. "You don't have to pretend with me."

"What are you talking about?" Harry said, looking at her like she was insane--which, he realized, she probably was.

"I know how she _really_ treats you," she replied, leaning in and whispering to him. "You don't have to lie to yourself."

"I'm not bloody lying to myself!" Harry said angrily, lurching out of his seat on the couch. "And I'm tired of you!"

"But--"

"No," Harry cut her off, reaching his boiling point. "I don't need anymore stress! Today is already the First Task, so if you don't mind, I'm going to leave now."

Harry stormed up to his dorm, seething, and slammed the door.

"Whoa," Ron said, pulling on his socks. "What's got your wand in a knot?"

"Three guesses," Harry said loudly, flopping on the bed..

"Romilda?" Ron winced at the thought.

Harry merely nodded mutely, rolling over onto his stomach.

"I don't think I can do this, today, Ron."

His friend looked up at Harry through wide eyes. "Why not?"

"It's just too much…" he replied. "I never thought that I would be getting this much attention, and well--"

"--You're going to back out _now_?" Ron interrupted him. "You must be crazy."

"Ron--"

"No," Ron interrupted again. "You will get up, get ready, and you will go down to the Great Hall! I am not going to let you throw this away!"

"I--" Harry said, sitting up. "--I reckon you're right."

"One of the few times," his friend replied with a goofy smile. "Now get changed. You've got a Task to survive."

"Thanks for reminding me…"

xxx

Harry sat down at the Gryffindor table, still being the object of the staring. Ginny--who was seated next to him--was getting numerous glares from half the school population, including the girls, and even some boys.

Harry glowered at everyone in sight. This was just too much. He didn't know that when he entered this tournament, that everything would end up like this. He reckoned he really didn't like being the center of attention all the time.

"Harry," Ginny said from beside him. "You haven't eaten anything."

"I--" he replied, looking at her. "I'm not hungry."

"The Task is going to start in just a few hours, Harry," Ginny said softly. "You need to eat."

Harry saw the look on her face, and picked up his fork.

"Happy?" Harry said with a smirk on his face as he chewed on a piece of egg.

"Very," Ginny laughed.

"You know," Ron said from across the table. "I still don't get it."

Harry looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Well," Ron elaborated. "I don't understand how he can be scowling one moment, and the next, he can be smiling."

"I believe," Violet chimed in with a laugh, "that in the Muggle world, the word is 'whipped'."

Seth and Hermione roared with laughter.

"Funny," Harry said dryly, giving his sister a warning look, as they were joined by another Gryffindor. "Oh! Hello Irisa!"

Violet made a muffled noise from across the table. Irisa looked at her.

"Hello Violet," she said.

"I have to go," Violet said, standing up.

"Yes," a voice said from behind her.

"Professor," Harry said, giving their Head of House his attention.

"Potter," she said curtly, nodding at him. "The three champions are needed in the staff room."

Ginny glanced at Harry to see barely hidden panic in his eyes.

"You'll be fine," she whispered to him.

Harry nodded, swallowing thickly. He leaned over and hugged her tightly.

"Wish me luck?"

"Only the best of it," Ginny said, giving him a quick kiss.

Harry stood up and followed Professor McGonagall out of the Great Hall, with Violet in tow. Irisa stood up, but as she started to walk away, Seth grabbed her arm.

"I need to talk to you," he said.

She nodded, as he guided her over to a secluded corner.

"I need you to do something for me," Seth said, worry in his eyes.

"Anything, Seth," she replied. "What is it?"

"I need to set aside you feud with Violet."

She raised her eyebrow.

"She is my sister," Seth said. "You know how much she means to me. So please--_please_--just… look after her. Make sure that she is okay. Can you do that for me?"

"Of course, Seth."

He nodded, dropping her arm.

"Thank you," he whispered, for the first time, showing all of his emotions.

xxx

"Professor?"

"Yes, Ms. Potter?"

"Why are we needed in the staff room?" Violet asked.

"Just to go over certain procedures," McGonagall explained. "It is tradition to have the champions meet somewhere before the First Task. Now here we are."

McGonagall came to a stop in front of the staff room doors. She murmured a password, and the doors opened.

"Champions, this way," she said, nodding forward.

Harry, Violet, and Irisa slowly made their way into the room. Harry and Violet only got two steps in before they were enveloped into a great hug.

"I've been so worried!"

"Mum?" Harry said, his voice muffled by her jumper, which was Gryffindor colors. "What are you doing here?"

"We came to see our children, of course!" Lily said, kissing both of them multiple times on the cheeks.

"We? Where's Dad?" Violet asked.

"He had to work a bit late. He should be arriving soon," Lily explained. "Oh I'm so glad to see you two alive!"

"Mum," Harry said again. "We haven't even completed the first task yet!"

"I know, I know," Lily said. "But you can't deny a mother her biggest pastime--worrying about her children."

"Seth's going to be so excited to see you!" Violet said, grinning, and adding in a whisper, "I think he's finally starting to open up."

"That's wonderful," Lily said with a big smile. "I'm just so glad to be here to see you all in the Task. Otherwise I would have died of anticipation!"

Irisa laughed from the corner of the room, where she was sitting, alone. Lily turned around.

"Irisa! Where are your parents?" she said, having heard from Seth that she was a witch.

"Oh," Irisa said, turning a bit pink. "They--They must have had to work or something."

"Well, I'm sure they'll turn up," Lily said, walking over and patting her on the arm, then giving her a hug. "I'm positive."

"Right," Irisa said, swallowing and averting her eyes from Lily's.

Lily opened her mouth to say something else, but before she could say anything, McGonagall spoke.

"Okay, Mrs. Potter, I know your children just got here, but I am afraid that you are going to have to leave, so that they can all prepare for the Task."

"Of course, Minerva," Lily said, giving the three champions one more hug each. "Good luck, you three!"

There was a chorus of thanks, as Lily exited the room.

"Gather round, gather round!" McGonagall said to them, and they obliged. "Mr. Bagman, Mr. Crouch, and Professor Dumbledore are already outside, at the site of the First Task. The rest of the school is making their way out there right as we speak. I see that you all came wearing clothes that will suit the Task perfectly--ones that you will be able to move around in comfortably, is this true?"

They all nodded, the cogs in their heads spinning.

"You will need only a wand," McGonagall added, as the rest swallowed nervously. "Then follow me to the champion's tent."

xxx

The champion's tent was a tan-gray color, and was filled with three cots--one for each of the champions.

"Oh, how lovely!" Violet said, looking around at the homely little tent.

"Yes," Harry replied half-heartedly. His hands were shaking as he peeked out of the gap in the tent. So far, all he could see was a large dome of some sort, surrounded by tons of seats for spectators. He could hear the excited buzzing of the students.

"So, Violet, are you nervous?" Irisa tried to strike up a conversation with Violet, keeping Seth in mind.

"Humph."

"Ah," Irisa said, ignoring her lack of reply.

McGonagall entered the tent at that moment.

"Ms. Potter," she said. "You are to go first. Come along."

The time passed very slowly, leaving Harry with only the sounds of the crowd to go by. He wished he could see what was happening--his imagination was starting to scare him.

The sound of the crowd cheering and roaring signaled the end of Violet's turn. Soon, Irisa's turn came and went, and Harry found himself face to face with Professor McGonagall.

"Potter," she said in that stern voice of hers, and it did nothing to calm Harry's nerves. "It is now your turn."

Harry's mind went crazy of all the possible horrors he was about to face. Sure, Violet and Irisa survived--but he was Harry. He wasn't as smart as them, or near as clever, he thought.

He was doomed.

The big dome loomed over the sides of the arena of sorts, and Harry felt insignificantly small. This was it. He was done for.

He wished his parents didn't have to watch their oldest son's horrid death. And Ginny--It would just tear her up!

Harry's thoughts sped up into insanity as he was guided to a door just outside the large dome. So far, he couldn't see anything inside. It was just complete and utter darkness.

A loud, booming voice sounded overhead.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" it said. "It is now Harry Potter's turn to enter the dome!"

The crowd erupted into applause and cheers. If Harry squinted, he could see Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Seth, Neville, and Luna in a small cluster towards the top of the arena. They were whooping and wishing him luck, his parents beside them.

A feeling began to swell inside him, and for the first time, Harry felt--hopeful.

The sound of a whistle sounded, along with a loud _"Begin!"_, and the door in front of him opened.

As soon as Harry set foot in the dome, and the door snapped shut behind him, the hopeful feeling shriveled up inside him and died. It was so dark that Harry couldn't see anything at all. He wondered how a glass dome that was outside in the sunshine could be filled with nothing but darkness, but realized that it must have been some sort of spell.

He remembered this! In Charms class--they mentioned something about a charm that could make one person see nothing but darkness, while everyone else sees light. Sort of like a reverse Hand of Glory.

Harry felt suddenly very vulnerable. Everyone else could see everything--he probably looked like an enormous fool!

Harry froze, and strained his ears. He heard a faint noise in the distance. Although the dome was soundproof, he was sure he heard someone--some_thing_. It was calling his name.

"_Harry…"_ it called. _"Collect the Sphinx! Collect the Golden Sphinx!"_

He had no idea what this thing was talking about, but at least he now has some sort of goal to achieve.

"CRACK!"

Harry's head snapped to his right. Something was right next to him, slowly getting closer. Harry grasped at his wand desperately.

"_Lumos!"_

Nothing happened.

Harry cursed. Not even his magic could penetrate the darkness. His eyes would just have to somewhat adjust. He thought that this was an impossible task, but it was the best chance he had at survival.

Harry heard a soft clicking noise behind his right ear. He spun around and blinked furiously, willing his eyes to see. Through the darkness, Harry finally saw something that made his stomach lurch.

_Eight eyes were staring back at him._

Harry held out his wand and said in the clearest voice he could,

"_Incarcerous!"_

Harry knew at once that the spell has worked. He heard a slithering noise and a high picked noise. The large Acromantula was now completely bound in ropes.

As his eyes began to adjust, Harry kept moving onward, keeping his eyes peeled for the 'Golden Sphinx'.

Just as he was conquering a rather large rock, Harry heard the voice again.

"_East! East!"_

Harry took the hint instantly. He took out his wand and laid it flat in the palm of his hand.

"_Point Me."_

Harry smiled as his wand spun and pointed him north. Harry turned towards the east and began walking once more.

A cold chill overtook Harry and his face drained of color. The already shriveled feeling inside seemed to have been severed and the smile was wiped clean off of his face. Harry could slightly see his breath steaming in the air in front of his face.

Dementors.

"Think of a happy thought. Think. _Think! THINK!"_

Harry raised his wand and yelled out in his loudest and most powerful voice,

"_EXPECTO PATRONUM!"_

A bright white stag erupted from Harry's wand, and galloped towards the oncoming Dementors. Harry as surprised to see that the patronus let off light, even when Lumos wouldn't work.

Even after the Dementors were gone, Harry kept his stag by his side, always circling around him. It made him feel safe, and it also gave off much needed light.

After half an hour of walking and Impedimenta jinxes at oncoming creatures of varying size and danger, Harry finally saw a glimmer of gold in the distance--it was like a little golden Snitch.

Harry's seeker practice with his father finally came in handy, after all. His quick feet and reflexes allowed him to maneuver his way around the rocks and boulders quite easily, his patronus keeping up the entire time.

The rush of adrenaline that Harry felt as he picked up the little golden model of a Sphinx in his hand was unforgettable. As the light streamed in suddenly from above, and the dome suddenly became see-through again, Harry looked up through squinted eyes into the face of his screaming friends, family, and admirers, he realized something.

This feeling--this feeling of pure joy, relief, and adrenaline--it was the reason he entered the tournament in the first place, and he realized that at that moment, nothing else mattered.

**A/N: Okay, so there you go! Please review! (I have over 70 alerts, so that should mean 70+ reviews, right? ;D Even if it is just a simple, "good!" or "nice!" it still brightens my day! Please? :3 )**


	20. Having Fun

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

**A/N: Thanks for reviewing, and also if you reviewed without an account! I really like this chapter--it's my favorite one yet--, and so I thought I'd treat you with a special cheerful one since it's the twentieth chapter. Without further babble, may I present chapter 20 of Catching Her Eye!**

**Chapter 20: Having Fun**

The crowd cheered and screamed as they waved their hands, trying to get Harry's attention. He grinned at everyone, but sorted through the crowd, looking for just a few people in particular. Just as he spotted them, a loud voice boomed, silencing the spectators.

"Judges?" said Bagman's voice, and the whole crowd turned their heads as one to face a table of judges.

Dumbledore rose his wand above his head, and the number _9_ curled into the air. The audience cheered, and Harry let out a small smile. Next came Mr. Crouch, who gave him a firm _8_.

The crowd hissed, but Harry's attention was focused on the third and final judge. Bagman gave him a massive grin, and rose his wand. The entire arena seemed to creak forward, everyone craning their necks to see what the man was going to do.

A stream of light came from the wand, and broke in two. One bit straightened out and the other wound into a circle. Harry couldn't believe it.

_10!_

The towering benches definitely let out a low moan this time as everyone seemed to press in towards him. The fans broke the barrier separating them from the dome--which had now disappeared--and poured out onto the stadium floor, where Harry was.

He suddenly became a bit frightened, but was soon ushered to safety by none other than Madame Pomfrey, the school nurse. She pulled him into the champions tent and pushed him down onto one of the beds and began to check him over.

"So dangerous--" she muttered, making a fuss over a rather nasty cut on his face that he had gotten from tripping over a rock. "Nearly killed you--"

Harry rolled his eyes when she wasn't looking. Madame Pomfrey continued to inspect every part of him, making him feel slightly embarrassed as she lifted up his shirt to peer at his torso, while checking for broken ribs.

Harry felt this was all extremely unnecessary.

"Is this really--" he began to voice his thoughts, but he obviously didn't know who the nurse worked.

"Necessary?" she shrieked, reminding Harry painfully of his Aunt Petunia, who he had only met once or twice. She and her family didn't like to mix with--well--_'their lot_._'_

Harry was under the impression that she wanted to say more, but she chose not to say anything as to not interrupt his examination.

"Take off your jacket," she ordered, and Harry obeyed, not wanting to upset her further.

Madame Pomfrey pushed up his sleeves and tutted at the condition of his elbows.

"What's wrong with them?" he asked, a bit defensive. He had never thought he had 'ungodly' elbows…

However, Madame Pomfrey either did not hear him, or chose to ignore his question.

Harry coughed a bit, and the nurse perked up, finally finding something other than his cut that she could deal with.

"Take this," she said, pouring some potion into a small cup and thrusting it into his hands. "It'll help--Drink!"

Harry hastily obliged, and at once he felt more energized, and steam rolled out of his ears. Harry wrinkled his nose a bit, considering it wasn't exactly the best-feeling sensation. Madame Pomfrey grimaced as the steam made a rather loud whistling noise.

"Feel better?" she asked Harry, as she took out her wand and summoned a bottle of Dittany. She opened the bottle and began to apply it to the cut on his face.

"Yeah," Harry said, wincing as he felt the cut stinging a bit. He reached up and felt his cheek, where there was now skin stretched out over the wound. It has stopped hurting.

"I'm afraid you're needed out in the stadium," Madame Pomfrey said with a reluctant sigh. "They are announcing the placements."

Harry nodded half-heartedly, already out of the opening in the tent. He heard Bagman's voice over the rumble of the crowd. "Now, now! Settle yourselves! Mr. Potter will be out soon, and then we can proceed with--"

His voice was cut off by cheers--and in the case of the Weasleys and Potters--sighs of relief at seeing that he was okay, as Harry walked out into the circular arena. He caught sight of Violet and Irisa standing near the Judge's table, and he hurried out to join them.

"Where _were_ you?" Violet asked, reminding Harry eerily of Hermione. "Are you okay?"

"Well, you know how Madame Pomfrey is," Harry said with a crooked smile. "Wouldn't rest until she checked every inch of me for injuries."

Violet smiled, and was about to say something when Bagman's voice sounded once more.

"Ladies, Gentlemen--Champions," he said, nodding to them. "Now the time has come to announce the placements. Firstly, with twenty points, we award Irisa Mystine--Third Place." Everybody clapped, and Harry distinctly heard a shout come from someone who he could have sworn was his brother.

"Next, with Twenty-Five Points, we award Second Place to Violet Potter!" Harry clapped loudly, absolutely beaming for his sister. He heard another cheer from somewhere in the crowd, this time it was louder.

"And lastly, with Twenty-Seven Points, we award First Place to Mr. _Harry Potter!_" This time, there was an explosion of cheers and whistles, and girly screams coming from the female population. Violet jumped on Harry's back and hugged him tightly.

"I am so proud of you, Harry," she said into his ear, and he grinned.

"The very same to you, sis," he replied and set her down before Irisa gave him a bone-crushing hug.

"Violet and I--we saw it all!" she said excitedly, releasing him. "You were _brilliant!_ I never thought of using a patronus for light! Well--I never thought of using one at all… I just sort of ran for it."

Harry laughed. "Thanks, Irisa."

Just then, the barrier between the audience and the champions broke, and everyone came rushing forward. This time, however, Harry wasn't afraid of being trampled. He was too busy looking for a group of people. He then spotted two heads of flaming red hair.

"_Harry!"_ Ginny yelled as she pelted herself at him. She nearly knocked him over as she latched onto him and buried her face in his chest. He kissed the top of her head, and she grinned up at him. "I was worried about you," she whispered softly, but Harry still heard her over the roar of chatter. "But I shouldn't have. You were amazing."

"Thank you Gin," Harry whispered back to her.

Lily smiled, as James wrapped an arm around her. He had gotten there just in time for the First Task, so he could cheer everyone on. His wife's eyes began to water, and James looked down at her.

"What?" he asked amusedly, knowing _exactly_ what she was on about.

"They are just so--" she broke off and looked up at James. "Look at them."

James looked to where she was pointing and saw Harry and Ginny wrapped tightly in each other's arms, grinning at each other. Harry leaned down and gave her a quick kiss. "They look like us," he commented quietly.

"I know," she said, wiping her eyes.

xxx

"To Gryffindor!"

"Lions!"

"Gryffindor!"

A chorus of cheers and salutes filled the air as people tossed their heads back and drank to their House. James and Lily had long since gone home, and all that was left was a packed Common Room full of underage wizards and witches drinking an assortment of things.

Butterbeer. Firewhiskey. And in some cases, some unidentified substances.

"Woooo!!!!" Seamus cried, streaking through the room wearing nothing but a Gryffindor flag round his waist.

"Bloody hell, mate!" Ron slurred loudly, his ears growing red. "What happened to your pants?"

"What?" Seamus called over to him. "What pants?"

"The ones you aren't wearing!" Ron shouted. Harry and Ginny snorted with laughter from the couch.

"Oh for the love of Merlin," Hermione said, "I cannot believe that you all are acting this way!"

"Lighten up, Her--Hermee--Herm--" Seth said from an armchair by the fire. He was having trouble pronouncing her name in his current state. "We're all just having a bit of fun," he continued, waving around his bottle, having given up on her name.

Violet plopped down on Seth, her head drooping over the arm of the chair. "We're celebreting!"

Hermione looked at Violet before saying, "You mean _'celebrating'?_"

"Err--yeah," she replied, waving her off. "That's the word."

"Besides," Hermione continued, taking a grab at Ron's glass, but missing as he snatched it away, slopping firewhiskey all over himself. "You all shouldn't be drinking, anyway!"

"Oh, drop it, 'Mione! We're having fun," Seamus said, skipping around the room once more. "We're just having fun!"

"You've said that already," Hermione said. "You _all_ have. I'm a _prefect_, you know."

The older girl rolled her eyes huffily and stormed up to her room.

"What's got her knickers in a twist?" Ron hiccupped, his ears brightening even more at the thought of Hermione's knickers. "I mean, what's she got against us having fun?"

"Who knows," Harry said, playing drunkenly with the ends of Ginny's hair. "But at least we got rid of her…"

"Now we actually _can_ have fun!" Violet said.

"And what was that rubbish about her being a prefect?" Seth said, amused. "Is that Hermione's whole reason for having a stick up her--"

Just then, a crashing sound came from across the room, and every turned to see what had happened. Dean Thomas was chuckling from beside one of the tables, behind of which Seamus picked himself up from the ground, his face beet red. He seemed to be re-wrapping the flag back around himself.

Harry and Ginny roared with laughter, while Ron's laughing was halted by an outburst of hiccups. Seth and Violet were clutching each other in the way that only twins do, and they seemed to be laughing as one. A chuckle could even be heard from one of the other sofas where Irisa had been sitting.

"He's completely sloshed," Ron said, his hiccups subsiding.

Over the hours, the Common Room began to empty out, leaving only Harry, Ginny, Ron, Seth, and Violet alone. They had stopped drinking a while ago, but that didn't stop them from eating their fill of sweets. Seth had eaten enough Chocolate Frogs for all of them combined, twice over.

"Harry," Ginny asked. "Can you hand me that bag of Bertie Bott's?"

Harry nodded and grabbed the bag, pouring it's contents into his palm. "Which one do you think I should eat?"

"Well, you should definitely not eat any soaps," she said.

"Oh, I know, I know," he said with a grin. "Those are your favorite, right?"

"Yes," Ginny replied, impatient. "Now hurry up!"

"Oh calm _down_," Harry said amusedly to Ginny. He grabbed a soap bean and popped it into her mouth. "Happy?" She nodded. "Now let's see…What about grass?"

"It's okay," she said. "Doesn't have _too _much of a flavour…"

"I think I'll pass on the beans," Harry said, dumping them back into the bag. He laid his head back on the couch as the twins made their way up to their beds. It was around three in the morning.

Ginny looked over at Ron, who had fallen asleep in his chair. He let out a loud snore and jolted awake, his eyes half-closed and droopy.

"The spiders," he said groggily, his voice muffled by his hand, which was rubbing his face. "Chasing mehhh--"

Harry and Ginny stifled their laughter as he took off running up the stairs and into the 6th year boy's dorm. He looked over at her, and she smiled at him.

"You know," she said, scooting a bit closer to him. "I'm proud of you. After today, though, I believe that we are going to have a lot of trouble on our hands."

Harry wrapped his arm around her and grinned, kissing her temple. "Don't worry," he said, catching on to what she was saying. "I think we can handle all those crazy fans. And besides, I wouldn't think too much on it. You're the only girl I'll ever need."

Ginny didn't respond, but merely leaned in and kissed him. Harry pulled away after a moment and grinned.

"You taste like soap."

**A/N: Okay, there you go! A ton of fluff near the end, and I wanted to get a bit of humour out of the way before the next chapter, which will be more on the serious side. The next will also be significantly longer than this one, which was shorter than I would have liked, but it was the best place to stop. Reviews give you better updates!**


	21. Ginny's Revelation

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

**Now, here's chapter Twenty-One!**

**A/N: Thanks if you reviewed! (and to** "dumbuldore 4ever", **I'm sorry--your email address didn't pop up, so just email me… My email address is on my profile page. Thanks!) Ah I got this one out rather quickly! I'm proud of myself!**

**Chapter 21: Ginny's Revelation**

"Oh just look at them!"

"How sweet!"

"He must be so tired! Poor thing!"

Harry heard voices around him, but he had no idea who the words were coming from. He barely remembered anything from the previous night, and his head was pounding. He slowly opened his eyes, his surroundings swimming into view.

__

Ugh,

he thought. _I really need to stop falling asleep in the common room._

At first, all he saw was the Golden Sphinx that he had collected in the First Task sitting next to him. Then he looked down Ginny, her face pressed into his chest, breathing deeply and sound asleep. He smiled, but then looked up to see a rather large group of girls gathered around the couch on which he and Ginny had fallen asleep the night before.

"Er--" he said uncertainly, straightening his glasses. "Hello?"

"Hiya Harry!" one of the girls chirped, but Harry hastily shushed her.

"Quiet down a bit," he said, gesturing to his sleeping girlfriend.

"Oh, sorry," the girl said, sounding louder than before. "We just came to congratulate you on your excellent performance yesterday. You were _brilliant!_"

"Thanks," Harry said, running a hand through his now tangled hair, then rubbing his neck, which had begun to ache from his position on the sofa.

"We all made buttons," the girl continued, brandishing a large, hot pink button. "See? They say _'Support Harry Potter: Gryffindor's Hero' _on them!"

"Yeah," he replied noncommittally, wanting nothing more than to fall back asleep to escape his raging headache. A small idea popped into his head, and at that moment, that was all he cared about. "Ginny. Gin--Wake up," he murmured, gently shaking her awake.

"Hmm?" she asked, her voice muffled. Harry smiled a bit, ignoring the looks on the girls faces, which clearly showed immense jealousy. "Wassamatter?"

"Gin, come on," Harry said, wiping the messy tufts of fiery hair out of her face. "Come with me."

"'Mmkay," she replied, half-asleep, too tired to refuse to whatever Harry wanted. Besides, her head was hurting too much.

Harry grinned at the girls around him before picking Ginny up bridal-style and carrying her up the stairs to the sixth-year boy's dormitory, the Golden Sphinx tucked in his elbow. The Gryffindor girls gaped at him.

"Did he just blow us off?" one of them asked.

"I think so," said another. "But who cares? At least he talked to us!"

A loud chorus of squeals were heard after this statement, and they went off to one of the girl's dorms to giggle about what had just happened. They were clutching each other and chattering the whole way up the stairs.

Over in the boy's dorm, Harry opened up the door and walked in, careful to not bump Ginny's head on the doorway. He walked softly over to his bed, where he pulled back the curtains and laid her down on the mattress, placing the Sphinx on his bedside table. He gave a quick look in Ron's direction, and upon seeing him fast asleep, Harry climbed in next to Ginny.

He shoved the curtains closed, and pulled the blankets over them, making Ginny turn over and burrow into Harry, murmuring something incoherent into his chest. Harry barely had time to worry about what Ron would think when he saw his little sister in his best mate's bed, when he wrapped his arms around Ginny and fell into a blissful sleep.

Some hours after that, and several peaceful dreams later, Harry was awoken by Ron's voice.

"Harry mate," he said. "It's nearly noon. We've both been asleep for ages, and Hermione's going to _kill_ us! I'm heading down to find her."

"Okay," Harry said groggily, through the curtains. "I'll be down in a bit."

He closed his eyes and listened for the sound of the door opening and closing before he jumped out of bed and hurriedly began to get dressed into a new set of clothes, the curtain still separating him and Ginny. "Gin!" he hissed. "Ginny! Wake up!"

"Why?" she asked, her head buried in his pillow. The word was long and drawn-out.

"Because your bloody brother was just here and I am not about to get killed for having you in my bed!" Harry replied. Ginny snorted.

"Oh!" she said with a laugh. "I _am_ in your bed! I was wondering why the girls dorm smelled like Ron's dirty laundry mixed with old Chocolate Frogs!"

"Oh _very_ funny," Harry replied. He was not in the mood for her wisecracks when his life was hanging on the line. He wasn't even this scared during the Task yesterday! "Please, Gin? Please get up!"

"Oh alright, alright," she said, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. Harry emerged from behind the curtains, having finished changing. "Harry, can I borrow one of your shirts? I don't feel much like walking over to the girls' dorms to get one of mine. I can just stay wearing these jeans…"

"Sure," he replied, tossing one of his old Quidditch shirts at her and turning around to allow her to change in privacy. "But if Ron asks, you snuck in here and nicked it while I was sleeping."

"Got it," she said, jumping out of bed and stealing Ron's hairbrush that sat on his bedside table. She began to brush her mane of tousled hair. "How do I look?"

"Great," he commented, grabbing her hand and pulling her to the door. He peeked outside, and when he didn't see anyone, he and Ginny made their way through the Common Room and out the portrait hole.

"Nice hair," she stated, nudging him in the ribs slightly. He laughed as they walked down to the Great Hall to find the others. His hands had been constantly running through his hair--a sign that he was nervous.

Harry cautiously opened the doors to the Great Hall, peeking inside. Ginny laughed, before pulling him away from the doors. She put her hands forcefully on his shoulders, forcing him to look at her.

"Harry," she said. "We didn't do anything. Nothing. We were just sleeping, after a long night of partying."

"Right," Harry said, taking a deep breath to calm himself down.

"So don't let Ron get to you," she continued. "Plus he didn't even see us, so we have absolutely _nothing_ to worry about!"

Harry nodded. "Thanks."

"Now I'm starving," Ginny said, grabbing his hand and leading him into the Great Hall. "I _am _a Weasley, after all. I need to eat!"

Harry grinned, and was about to reply when there was a loud buzzing that caught him off guard. The entirety of the school was now gazing up at him, some grimacing with jealous, some with admiration evident on their features. And some--some were just flat out fascinated.

"Well lookie here," Ginny said into his ear. He could tell she was smirking by the tone in her voice. "It looks as though I've got a celebrity on my hands."

Harry blushed and stepped a bit closer to her, before they continued farther into the hall, towards their friends and family at the Gryffindor table. Harry and Ginny plopped down in front of Violet and Irisa, the former of which looking very miffed. Harry raised his eyebrows at them, surprised to see them sitting next to each other. Violet sighed, and her jaw clenched tighter than it already was.

"What's going on…?" Harry trailed off as Violet shot a very pointed look in Seth's direction, but her twin brother seemed to be taking no notice of them. He was currently reading the Daily Prophet. Harry nodded in sudden realization. "Oh--"

Ginny shot a look at her boyfriend, who got the hint and leaned in to whisper to her, "Well, I suppose that she's trying to act civil to Irisa to make Seth happy. To keep the peace, so to say…"

"Ohhh, okay," Ginny said. "I don't get how you all can do that--talk to one another with just glances."

"Well--it's really just the Seth and Violet that do it," Harry said fairly. "I just sort of picked up on it over time."

Ginny nodded, and turned to dish out a rather generous helping of biscuits and gravy onto her plate. The houselfs who worked in the kitchens had been serving breakfast all day, knowing that the students would be waking up late in the afternoon, and assumed that they would want to wake up to breakfast. Ginny was eternally grateful for this.

"So," Harry continued, turning back to Violet and Irisa. "What happened to you all yesterday?"

"Oh, not much," Violet said. "I just used a few simple spells that I learned that came in very handy. Although, I was rather stumped with the Acromantula. I froze and my mind went blank, and it had carried me off for a few minutes before anything came to mind. I was alright in the end."

Harry gaped at her. "It _carried you off_?"

She nodded, but waved him off. "Yes, the judges must have taken off a few points for that… But don't worry. Wait until you hear hers," she said, gesturing to Irisa. "It's a miracle how she got out alive."

"Well, that's one way to put it," Irisa said, glancing at Harry and Ginny, who had raised eyebrows. "Er--Well, let's just say that I had a bit of trouble near the end…"

"A bit of trouble?" Violet said. "You nearly got your soul sucked out by the Dementors! You're just lucky that you finally gained use of your legs before it was too late," she leaned forward and whispered, "In the end, she just ran away. No wonder the judges took off points for _that_ mistake. She could have just used a simple patronus--"

"No!" Irisa burst out. "I'm sorry, Seth. I just can't do this anymore."

Violet looked at her blankly.

"I just can't deal with her!" Irisa said. "You all see how much she hates me! I didn't do anything to her, and yet she treats me as if I murdered her owl or something!"

"What did you do to Jellybean?" Violet jumped up to face Irisa.

"I didn't do anything to that atrocious thing!"

"Then why did you bring it up?"

"I was trying to make a point!" Irisa cried, throwing her hands in the air. "Forget this! I need some time alone!"

She picked up her bag and stomped away. Seth, who had remained silent the entire time, just merely stared at the door she had just exited through. Harry and Ginny exchanged looks, and through that glance, she finally felt what it was like to know exactly what someone else was thinking. She reveled in this thought.

Ron and Hermione had been sitting quietly through everything, but Ron decided to break the uncomfortable silence.

"What the bloody hell was that about?" he said. Hermione elbowed him in the ribs.

"Language, Ronald!" she hissed. Harry and Ginny sniggered. Seth blinked, before picking up the Daily Prophet. "What are you reading about, Seth?" she continued, trying to change the subject.

He looked up at her. "Apparently this guy named Tom Riddle got an award or something. I guess he invented some sort of spell."

"Tom Riddle?" she asked. "He sounds really familiar…"

"Of course he does," Ginny said. "You've read practically everything in the world that there is to read. He is bound to be mentioned somewhere."

"That's it!" Hermione said. "I've got to go!"

She jumped up from her seat and rushed out of the Great Hall.

xxx

Hermione ran into her dorm and tossed open her trunk, sorting through the several books stacked inside. She finally found the one she was looking for, and pulled it out and flopped onto her bed with the book in front of her.

She remembered when she had first gotten the book, a few days earlier in the library. She had knocked over a few books that day, and had seen it laying among the others on the floor. Something propelled her to pick it up, and she ended up taking it without checking it out, which was a first for her.

She had read it that night. It was a book about powerful witches and wizards in history, and she had come across an entire chapter about a man named Tom Riddle.

She flipped it to that very chapter, and began to scan through it's contents. One sentence stuck out to her. _Tom Marvolo Riddle is considered a rather talented man, and some even say that he could do anything he set his mind to, whatever it may be._ It scared her to think about what someone with as much power as him might do.

Seth had said that Riddle had won an award for inventing a spell… What type of spell? She wasn't sure, but she had a _very_ bad feeling about this man. Something about him definitely made her uneasy.

Hermione sighed and made a mental note to read the entire Prophet article later on that day.

xxx

A few days later, Harry was sitting in the library with Ginny, who was attempting to finish her Potions essay. He had the Sphinx sitting on the table in front of him, trying to figure out what he was supposed to do with it. He tried prodding it with his wand and muttering a few spells, but all it did was make a fuss and tell him that he wasn't going to get anywhere with such rudeness. He even tried asking it politely what it was supposed to do, but it refused to tell him. To make it all worse, it spoke these things in riddles, which made Harry want to pull his hair out.

"Oh, it's not _that_ bad," Ginny said after Harry sighed for the twenty-fifth time in one hour. "I think this was the desired effect, really. The judges don't exactly want to make it easy for you, do they? If you just read between the lines--"

"What lines?" Harry scoffed. "Would you be so kind as to point them out to me, seeing as I have no idea where they are."

"Funny, Harry," Ginny said, rolling her eyes.

"Seriously, though," Harry said. "What should I do?"

"Well," she said, chewing on the end of her quill. "I'd assume that whatever you have to do would possibly relate to Egypt or something. That is where that giant sphinx is."

"How did you know about that?" Harry asked. "I thought wizards didn't really get into Muggle history like that.

Ginny scoffed. "_Muggle_ history? Wizards are the reason that thing is still standing, and besides--a few years ago, we took a family trip to Egypt during the summer."

"Oh, did you have fun?" Harry asked.

"Yes, as a matter of fact we did--" she paused, wondering how on earth their conversation had turned to this. "But that's beside the point. We were talking about your little golden friend there," she pointed to the little Sphinx, who was now taking a nap on her essay.

"Right," Harry said. "So something to do with Egypt… I have to take it to Egypt?"

Ginny laughed. "I don't think so…but how did you get that thing to move around and talk, anyway?"

"Oh, well--I'm not exactly sure," he said, his brows furrowed. "I think I might have mispronounced a spell or something, and this was the result."

"How lovely," she commented idly, moving the Sphinx off of her assignment and dipping her quill in the ink.

The door to the library opened and a large group of girls entered. Instinctively, Harry and Ginny both collected their things and moved to the very back of the room, behind the shelves. Harry's popularity was becoming second nature to them, lately, and they were actually getting rather good at hiding from admirers.

"I'm finished!" Ginny said some minutes later, setting down her quill excitedly. "Here, have a look."

She passed Harry her essay, and he quickly read it, pointing out a few spelling errors, and the occasional fault in punctuation.

"It's good," Harry said, passing the parchment back to her. "It's better than I could ever write. I'm dead awful at potions."

"Oh, you can't be--" but Ginny stopped as Harry clapped a hand to his forehead. "Harry?" she asked. "Harry, what's wrong?"

"My…scar…" he choked out, his eyes squeezed shut.

That was all she needed. She grabbed Harry's hand and tried to pull him away to either Dumbledore or Madame Pomfrey, but he resisted.

"Gin…"

"Harry we have to--" she started, but he cut her off.

"No--Just--" Harry broke off, and slumped to the floor.

xxx

It was nearly three days later, and Ginny was sitting in the Hospital Wing, next to her bed-ridden boyfriend, who had yet to wake up. She hadn't even left his side since he collapsed, until Ron and Hermione forced her to eat something, which ended up being a lost cause, anyway.

All around Harry's bed, hundreds of get-well cards and gifts from admirers and friends were stacked into towering piles on his bedside tables. They even had to wheel in a few carts for extra space. Ginny picked up another bag of Bertie Bott's, waving her wand over it to check for any potions or charms. Who knows what lengths those girls would go to….

She pulled the small drawstring and sifted through the bag's contents. Ginny picked out a red colored bean, and was pleased to find out that it was cherry flavored. She chewed on the candy with a thoughtful expression on her face as she stared out of the window above Harry's bed.

"A penny for your thoughts?"

Ginny nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the voice from bedside her. Harry had rolled over on his side to face her, his glasses on the little space of the bedside table that was not covered by gifts.

"Harry!" Ginny said, putting a hand over her heart and breathing heavily. "When did you wake up?"

He shrugged, sitting up and squinting to look at her once more, before saying, "What happened?"

Ginny stood up and moved her body to sit at the foot of his bed. She twisted her hands in her lap, unsure of how to ask him.

"Harry," she paused. "What was the last thing you remember?"

He looked at her weirdly, but answered her nonetheless. "We were in the library, and we went to the back--" he stopped talking. A hand shot up to his forehead in disbelief. "--And my scar was hurting."

She nodded mutely, before talking after a rather long silence. "Dumbledore said that it isn't a good sign."

"Well, if it isn't a good sign, then he must know what has been going on, right?" Harry asked hopefully. "I mean, if he doesn't know anything, how can he assume that it is bad?"

"Well, Harry, the scar itself wasn't exactly the best thing to begin with," Ginny said softly. "Dumbledore reckons that it has something to do with a curse. He thinks that someone wanted you like this."

Harry blanched, but remained silent, staring straight ahead.

Ginny remembered seeing that look on Harry's face before, and with a sharp pang, she suddenly remembered something that had happened weeks ago.

__

**"Have you ever seen this scar before?"**

**The question seemed absurd, but before Harry could shake his head 'no', something sparked in his mind, as he suddenly remembered something. He nodded.**

**Ginny looked as shocked as Harry felt. He looked across the desk at Dumbledore, who was giving him a searching look.**

**"Well, it wasn't exactly real," Harry clarified. "I had this dream once…In the dream, I had this," he brushed his finger over the scar on his pale, white forehead.**

**"What happened in this dream?" Dumbledore asked seriously. Ginny gaped at the both of them, her hand still linked with Harry's.**

**"I--I was at the Ministry of Magic, where my dad works. I don't remember it making much sense," Harry said. "Anyway, I was standing in the atrium, by the big fountain--just looking into the water. And that's when I heard a voice."**

**Ginny's gaze locked onto Harry as he spoke the next words.**

**"It was whispering to me. It said something about me being chosen."**

Ginny's hand clapped to her mouth in sudden realization. "Harry."

Harry's head snapped up to look at her. He now had his glasses on. "What is it?" he asked, concerned by the look on her face.

"Remember when you were talking to Dumbledore about that dream you had?" he looked confused, so she clarified. "The one where you were in the Ministry, and you saw the scar on your forehead."

"Oh!" Harry said. "That one. What about it?"

"What about it?" Ginny said, unbelievingly. "That is a huge clue! Harry--what if--what if what you saw was real? What if you really are chosen for something? What if--" she said this all very fast, and her eyes became rather anxious.

"Ginny," Harry said, noticing this. "Calm down. Breathe. I think you have a point, but we really can't deal with this problem right now. Compared to everything that is going on, this seems to be the least of my worries."

"What are you talking about?" she cried, surprised by his obviously careless attitude towards his well-being.. "That's crazy, and of course we can deal with it!"

"No, Ginny," he said sternly. "I have too much in my life right now. I don't need to explain this to you! You already know how hectic everything is already! I can't think about this absurd scar on my forehead anymore."

"Harry, this is serious!"

"I know, Ginny!" he groaned in frustration. "Just drop it!"

"How am I supposed to drop--"

"STOP!" Harry yelled, releasing his pent-up frustration and emotions from the past few days. "Please. Stop nagging at me. Everything is fine."

"Don't lie to yourself," Ginny said quietly. "You know that everything is _not_ fine. Even Dumbledore said that the scar was put there by Dark Magic! I don't know what they think about Dark Magic in _America_, but _here_, it's BAD."

Harry blinked at her. "Really? I think you are just blowing all of this out of proportion!"

"I'm just trying to help!" Ginny screamed. "I'm your _girlfriend!_ I have the right to be worried! I care about you!"

"Worried?" Harry said. "If this is your definition of worried, then I do not want to see you when you're acting hysterical."

"Harry," she said in a warning tone. "Don't go there."

"Why not?" he asked, beginning to mock her. "I'm your _boyfriend!_ I have the right to state my opinion!"

"There's a fine line between stating your opinion and being downright rude!"

"I don't think I was being rude," he said. "I think I was actually quite accurate."

Ginny huffed. "Well," she said, reaching the end of her fuse, "we finally found something that we can't agree on."

Before Harry could stop her, Ginny jumped off the bed and stormed determinedly out of the Infirmary, the door swinging closed behind her.

**A/N: So what do you think? I thought that a fight between Harry and Ginny was needed to show the tension in the air for everyone, and I also wanted to add a bit of Harry's stubbornness into the story somewhere. Please review!**

**EDIT: I went back and changed up the ending a bit. It was bugging me all day.**


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